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fOPYRUlHTEl).
By F. W. Teepk" and A. Davis Smith
1887.
The attitude of Jefferson County toward American manufacturing has
;suddenly assumed a determining influence. Its wonderful resources, and
their possibilities, even now command general recognition in that division
•of the world's manufacturing industry wherein wages are highest, labor
-most dignified, and profits most certain.
The execution of the plan of this volume required record to be made
■of a circumstantial variety of conditions which, initiating in Jefferson
■County, have laid the foundations of a wonderful industrial transformation
perva>^..ig the entire State, and sensibly felt far beyond the bounda-
ries of Alabama. The several features of the history these pages attempt
are: A technical treatise, made popular, regarding the proof of the
mineral wealth of the county ; the success of rail transportation in giving
■commercial value to the products of mines and manufactures ; the indus-
trial, financial, and social character of the population.
The essay of Professor Henry McCalley is a most satisfying explana-
tion of the incalculable natural resources confined in this county. The
enterprise brought to bear upon them is fully discovered in the history of
the great land corporations and the manufactories. The elevated char-
acter of the community may be traced in the political and municipal
Preface.
government ; in tlie schools and churches ; the press ; pohtical, industrial,
and religious, and social organizations so numerous and zealous.
The biographical feature is replete with historical data of no common
interest. Each separate sketch was obtained by special request of the
publishers. A glance over the whole number will prove that Jefferson
County development and the foundation and growth of Birmingham are
the proud achievements, first, of Alabamians, and of Southern men next.
No very rich individual came here as a pioneer. Very few individuals
approached in fortune the designation of "rich men" among those who
have given fame to the wealth of Jefferson County. All the leaders are
recorded as of an active religious faith.
The steel engravings are of the best style known to the art, and in
ever)' instance were made expressly for the places they here fill.
The volume is a Birmingham product. It was wholly prepared and
put to press in this city, and the publishers, sharing the pride which
doubtless all public-spirited citizens must feel in its successful appearance,
intend it to be the forerunner of others whose office it shall be to proclaim
and promote the fame and prosperity so honorably erected here.
The Publishers.
Birmingham, April, 1887.
INDEX.
PAGE
Adams Private Bank I'lil
Alabama Xational Bank. The LTi:!
Al.lrich, T. H I'S
Alum 42
Anderson, F. Y ]l!0
Anticlinal Valley 25
Appalachian is, 20, 25
Banks of Birmingham 246
Bar, Roll of 93
Bar, Members of 56
Barker, M. P 151
Baylor, W. K 84, S5
Beard, Rev. T. J 218
Bench and Bar 77
Berney National Bank, The 257
Birmingham, Situation of 54
Birmingham National Bank, The . . 261
Brown Ore, Analy.sis of 49
Brown, Rev. Hardie 236
Brown, John S5
Browne, Very Rev. J. J 211
Bugbee, Francis S6
Cahaba Coal Field-
Area of 36
Analysis of 39
Capacity of 38
Dip of 39
General Character of 37
!Montevallo Group 38
Transportatiofi of 39
Canals and Railroads, Early 54
Caldwell, Dr. H, M .... 1.55, 1 71
Cantly, John 62
Chazy Rock 44
Churches, The 208, 245
First Baptist. 226
Colored Baptist 242
The Advent 212
St. Paul's Catholic 208
The Christian 240
Churches — Continued.
Congregation Emanuel . 242
First Methodist E., South 235
St. John's Methodist E., South. . 237
Second Methodist E., South 240
North Methodist E 239
Colored M^hodist. .». 245
First Presbyterian 220
Second Presbyterian 224
Cumberland Presbyterian 226
Clay — Fire, Iron, Stone 41
Climate 18
Clinton Group 44, 45
City Bank, The 250
City Government 189, 195
Coal Fields 20
Coal Measures. . . . , 18, 20
Coal INIines, Early. 61
Coal and Ore Mines 594
Coal, Analysis of 34, 35
Coal, Quality and Quantity of 20
Coal, Primitive Mining 48
Coalburg 144
Coke, Production and Analysis. . . .33, 34
Copperas 42
Corporations, Miscellaneous —
Alabama Real Estate and Loan. 271
North Highlands 271
North Birmingham Building . . . 271
Alabama Co-operative 272
Birmingham Corrugating 272
Birmingham Investment 273
Rogers Printing 273
Ullman Hardware 273
Watts Coal and Iron 273
Birmingham Paint, Glass and
"Wall Paper 274
Land and Investment 274
Alabama A.sphalt, Alining, etc. . 274
Three Rivers Ciial and Iron 275
First National Coal and Iron.. . . 275
Index.
Corporations — Continued.
Peacock Coal, Iron, and Improve-
ment 275
Nortli Alabama Colored Land . . 275
Birmingham Abstract 27(5
Birmingham Construction 276
People's Homestead, Building,
and Loan 276
Central Trust 277
Co-operative Manufacturing and
Building 2(7
Industrial Protective 277
Birmingham Land and Loan 277
Birmiugham Real Estate and
Investment 278
Colored Mutual Investment 278
Birmingham Land, Tanning, and
Manufacturing 287
Alabama Wagon and Carriage . . 287
Kreble Engine Manufacturing.. 290
Birmingham Iron Bridge and
Forge 290
Birmingham Furnace and ^Man-
ufacturing 290
Red Mountain Mining and Man-
ufacturing 290
Crops, Field 21
County Officers 56, 73, 74, 75, 76
Courthouse 55
Cullinan, Colony of John G 135
Cox, G. S ". 91
Davis, Dr. Ralph 109
Da^•is, Dr. Daniel 98
Deason, G. T 109
DeBardeleben, H. F 187
Douglass, Howard 28
Drainage 21
Earle, Dr. Samuel 8 98
Edwards, Dr. J. S 100
Elyton Land Company 148, 184
Ensley, Enoch 590
Ernest, William S 91, 124
Exchange, Cotton and Produce 295
Farmers, Early 59
Farm Products 128
Farrar, T. W 86
Faults 19
First National Bank, The 250
First Settlers 54, 60, 61
Flatwoods 4a
Forests 21
Forrest, J. F 87
Fossils 23
Furnace, First 63
Furnaces —
Ahce 592
Eureka .591
Mary Pratt 593
Williamson 593
Woodward 591
Projected 594
Garland, Dr 125
Geological History 18
Grace, B. E 66
Green, Colonel 61
Hagood, Dr. Zachariah 100
Handley, Rev. L. S 222
Hawkins, Dr. Nathaniel 109
Hay, Dr. Jones 103
Hazlehurst, G. H 141
Henley, R. H 91, 187
Hewitt, Captain 61
Hewitt, G. W 88-
Hillman, T. T 580
Hotels 309-
Hubbard, David 120
Indians 54, 57, 5&
Iron Stone 41
Iron Ores, Area of 48, 49
Iron Ores, Analysis of 45, 46, 47
Iron Ores, Black Band 41
Industries 18
Insurance Companies —
Birmingham ; Iron and Oak ;
Royal • 274
Jefferson County
Early History of 5S
General Description of 17
Jonesboro 58
Jolly, J. J 92
Judges —
Chancery 84
Circuit 80
City Court 83
Index.
Judges — C'ontiuued.
Criminal 322
Probate 85
Kent, Dr. J. E 109
Keller, Dr. James 97
Kelley, Moses 8.5
King, Dr. Peyton . . 97
Knox Dolomite 44, 47
Knox Shale 48
Land Companies, Suljurban —
Avondale 261
Smithfield 262
North Birmingham 262
East Lake 264
East Birmingham 265
Birmingham — Ensley 265
Glendale ." 266
Belt Road 266
Mutual .266
Walker . . 267
South Side 267
Village Creek 267
East End 268
Ensley 268
Cahaba Valle}- 269
East End Land and Improve-
ment . . 269
Clifton 269
College Hill 270
Bessemer 270
Bradfield 271
Highland Lake 271
Central .... . . 271
Land Grants 127
Latitude 20
Legislators 72, 73
Lindsay, W. W . . . . .... 87
Linn, Charles 248
Little Basin 24, 25
Longitude 20
Lower Silurian 45
Mails, Early 56
Manufactories 279, 291
Church's Machinery and Fine
Tool " 279
Southern Bridge. .. . 279
Birmingham Agricultural Iniijle-
ment 279
Birmingham Iron 'Works 2S0
•Manufactories — Continued.
Wharton Flouring Mills 280
Avondale Ice Factory 280
Birmingham Ice Factory 280
Jefferson Pressed Brick . . 280
Birmingham Bridge and Bolt. . . 280
■ Smitli's Sons Gin and Machine.. 281
Alabama Iron Works .... 281
Southern Foundry and Manufac-
turing 282
Baxter Stove 282
Brewer's Sash, Door, and Blind
Factory 282
Avondale Iron 285
Excelsior Foundry and INIachine 28.>
Avondale Stove 285
Birmingham Chain 286
Birmingham Axe and Tool 286
Thompson Brick 286
Avondale Lumber and Milling.. 286
Alabama Gas, Fuel, and Manu-
facturing 287
Birmingham Soaj) 287
Enterprise Manufacturing Com-
pany 290
Caldwell Printing Works 291
Mineral Water Manufacturing. . 291
McCalla, R. C 142
]\IcCaa, Eugene 91
Marre, A 153
Marshall, Dr. F. M 108
Martin, Alburto 88
Medical Profession 97
INIedical Society 109
^lerchants. Early . . 55
Milner, John T.." 138
Milner, Willis J 174
Millstone, Grit 25, 26
Miners, Nationality of 40
Mineral Interests, Early 63
Milner's Report 132
Moore, W. W 91
Moore, Gov. A. B 131
Morris, Josiah.. 162
Morrow, J. C 88
Mudd, W. S 88
Mussel Shoals 121, 13.S
National Bank, The ... 249
Natural Divisions 22
New Castle - - 144
Index.
Pearson, R. H ill
Peck, E. W 62, S6, S7
Pennsylvania Coal, Quantity of . . . . 28
Peters, Thomas 145
Phelan, Ellis 98
Physical Features 26
Physicians 56, 117
Pierce, Rev. J. D 238
Pioneer Iron-Makers 580
Places of Amusement 309
Plateau and Basin Area 24
Population 18
Porter, M. T 86, 88
Powell, James K 165
Production 22
Press, The 196, 207
Jones' Valley Times 196
Central Alabamian 196
Elyton Herald 196
Birmingham Sun 197
Jefferson Independent 197
Daily Sun 197
Iron Age 197
Chronicle 199
Alabama Christian Advocate 200
Kew South 200
Labor Union 201
Planters' Journal 202
Land and Rail 203
Furnace and Factory 203
Alabama Jledioal and Surgical
Journal . . 203
Evening News 204
Purser, Hev. D.I 231
Railroads 18
Railroads, Building 120
Railroads, Convention to Promote.. 123
Railroad, Queen & Crescent 129
Riiilroad, Alabama Central 130
Eailroads, Later 595
Rainfall 20
Kandolph, Nimrod D . . 103
Eaw Material 17
lied Mountain 45
Rolling Mills 594
Eock Mountain 24, 25
Rodes, Gen. R. E 126
Kobiuson, Dr. J. B 100
Saltpetre 42
Savings Bank, Jefferson County 254
Schools, Public 245
Section, General 29. 30, 31, 32, 44
Sequatchee Valley . . 25
Sherrod, Benjamin 121
Silurian Rocks 45
Sloss, J. W 185
Sloss Steel and Iron Co 593
Smith, Dr. J. R 103
Societies, Secret and Social
Knights of Pythias 301
Cyrene Commandery 301
Birmingham Fraternal Lodge, F.
& A. M . 302
Birmingham Encampment, I. O.
O.F 302
JMiueral City Lodge 302
Knights of Honor 303
Evening Star Lodge Knights and
Ladies of Honor 303
L'nited Charities 303
Young iSIen's Christian Associa-
tion 304
Press Club 305
Women's Christian Temiierauce
Union 306
Yard-Masters' IMutual Benefit
Association 306
Order Railway Conductors 307
-Alabama Club 307
German Society 308
G. A. R. George A. Custer Post.. 308
Knights of Labor 308
Brotherhood of Locomotive En-
gineers 576
Soils 21
Stones 41
Strata, Dip of 24
Strata, Sub-Carboniferous 33
Temperature 20
Three-per-cent. Fund 64
Timber 42
Topography 20
Towns and Villages 595
Tuomey, Michael 42, 123
Transportation, City 296, 301
Trenton Rocks 44
Troy, Daniel S 179
hidex.
Upheavals :
Upper Silurian . . . .
Valleys
Valley, Anticlinal.
Vann, Dr. J. B....
Vegetable Matter..
Volunteers, Early.
I'.t
4l.>
109
Walker, Peter S,5
Walker, Jr., W. A SS
Walker, T. A SS
"Warrior Coal Field 2;!
Composition of .... '1\
Workable Seams of. ...
Thickness of
Value of
Capacity of
Complications of
Warrior Coal Field — Ciintinueil.
Clean Coal 33
Character of 33
Numlx'r of. . 27
How Used 36
How Mined 35
How Reached 3.5
Area of . . 25
Warrior River, Flcnv of 2t), 36
Water Divide 20
Waterworks 183
Webb, /. B 57
AVholesale Houses 292, 295
Wilson, W. L 85
Wilson, P. N 88
White Child, First Born 54
Younj;, H. A . 91
hidex to Portraits.
INDEX TO PORTRAITS.
Berry, Wm. E .:.. 501
^ Berney, William 256
J Boddie, Jolm B 425
_, Boland, R. W 452
•Caldwell, H. M 171
-* Cameron, W. J 251
-^ Davin, Walter W 474
-Davis, J. D. S H6
.Davis, W. E. B 394
Eastman, E 429
^ Grace, Baylis E 52
"Handley, Wm. A 437
^ Hawkins, James E 347
- Hillman, T. T 581
" Hudgins, T. L 417
•Johns, L. W 560
- Jordan, M. H 106
Kelley, George C 283
Lane, A. O 78
-- Luckie, J. B 385
Martin, Alburto 89
-^ Milner, John T 137
JMilner, Willis J 175-'^
MfAdory, Chambers .509 ^
McCary, Clyde J . . 513' .\
Mudd," Wm". S 82^'
Pearson, Robert H 330 "-
Phillips, J. H 244
Porter, Mitchell T 319 ,
Purser, D. 1 230 ^
Read, John W 260' .
Roberts, Willis 205
Roden, B. F 297 ,
Russell, James M ^ 367 j
Smith, Joseph R 102 v
Smith, R.D 433-
Stevens, Jr. , E. G 455 ^
Tabor, B. H 360
Taliaferro, E. T 339 ,
Terry, John T 333 \
Thomson, John M 505
Underwood, W. T 448 ,
Walker, AVra. A 68 -^
Walker, Jr., AVm. A 326 ..
AVestbrook, J. C 5ia
Williamson, C. P 445- ..
Index to Biographies.
INDEX TO BIOGRAPHIES.
Abernethy, B. G 399
Abernethy, J. C 398
Allen, B. M 376
Allen, James A 469
Allen, Henry 531
Altman, J.J ■ . ■ 363
Ashford, T. T 494
Ansley, W. W 549
Ball, Geo. C 461
Bains, G. W 492
Bankhead, J. H 442
Bass, J. W 555
Barelift, H. H 494
Barclift, L. M., Jr 494
Berney, Wm 419
Bethea, W. M 365
Beggs, H. T 477
Berry, W. E 500
Berry, R. A 401
Beitman, Joseph 467
Billups, J. M., Jr 416
Boddie, John B 424
Boggan, M. ]M 496
Boland, K. W 453
Bradley, R. C 405
Brewer, W. P 454
Bridges, E. L 461
Brooks, W. :^I 342
Brown, H. U 372
Brownlee, E. G 522
Buchanan, 3.\ 499
Burwell, O. S 539
Burwell T. 0 477
Burgin, W. M 406
Byrne, Patrick 459
Cameron, W. J 420
Campbell, E. K 375
Campbell, G. W 488
Carter, J. R 411
Chew.W.L 400
Cheek, Amos 498
Chenoweth, W. A 491
Clarke, H. 0 527
Clarkson, E. L 354
Cobbs, Thomas 317
Cobbs, J. B 421
Cochrane, H. P 397
Copeland, W. B 485
Copeland, H. J 525
Copeland, B. G 39{>
Cowin, Tom 553
Cox, James A 401
Crawford, W. W 548
Crawford, Toombs 552
Crowe P. P 556
Cruikshank^G. M 412
Cunningham, R. M 573
Darby, S. J 373
Davis, Elias 380
Davis, Daniel 378 -
Davis, J. D. S 391
Davis, W. E. B 395
Davin, Walter W 475
Davis & Worcester 467
Dawson, W. W 464
Dill, H. H 572
Dozier, J. C 388
DuBose, J. W 413
Earle, J. B 482
Earle, P. H 483
Eastman, E 428
Edmonds, E. N 416
ElHs, C. C 519
Emmons, S. W 479
Enslen, C. F ... 422
Enslen, E. F 422.
Index to Biographies.
Erswell, Edward 484
Eubank, Alfred o36
Eubank, George oliH
Evans, F. V 4(17
Francis, C. H 4.S5
Francis, J. B 4!)1
Fulton, E. K :!(14
Fulwiler, R. W 550
Garrett, J. J 353
Gayle, J. P 5l>7
Gillespy, J. S 400
Gillespie, J. M 374
Gilmer, W. B 5l'6
Glailden, F. C ■ 552
Going, J. A 500
Greene, S. E 322
Green, N. T 5J8
Grace, D. B 414
Grady, J. F 4ii7
Gregg, M. ,J ;;75
Gould, William 556
Hagood, R. H 521
Handley, W. A 4;?5
Hanby, S. M 5^0
Hand, D. M 53,3
Hargreaves, H. W 570
Hawkins, J. E ;;46
Hawkins, A. X 49S
Harding, W. P. G 547
Harris, G. H 57I
Harris, G. W 497
Heflin, J. T 314
Henley, A. T liOl
Henley, J. C 41S
Hewett, G. W Sl>4
Hickman, W. P 402
Higgins, W. H 533
Higdon, E. L 478
Hochstadter, I. R 554
Hochstadter, A. F 408
Hopkins, .T. B 489
Hood, AVm 4S(5
Horton, W. M 5:57
Houston, W. A 5(i8
Huey, J. M 500
Hughes, B. M 388
Hughes, C. T 535
Hudgins, T. L 417
Hudson, M. G 528
Ingram, C. J. K.. . .
Irion, F. M
508
405
.letters, Thomas 534
Jemison, Robert 427
Jemison, J. S 3()4
Johns, L. \V 5(il
Johnston, W. H 389
Jones, J. C 574
Jones, E. R 4i)3
Jordan, M. H 381
Kelloy, George C 450
Kettig, W. H 47()
Lacey, E. P .. . ,
Laird, S. E
Lane, A. 0
Ledbetter, J. A. .
Ledbetter S. L..
Lighton, S. H . . .
Linn, E. W
Lindsay, W. M. .
Long, J. C
Lowe, R. J
Luckie, J. B. . . .
Lyons, T. B
Lynch, J. E
558
493
330
. . 400
. . 459
. . 421
. . 480
. . 554
. 3G9
. . 384
. 423
. . 493
INIalone, W. N 472
Martin, J. M 349
Martin, Alburto 322
Marshal, J. B 533
Marable, D. T 551
Mercer, Harry 487
Merrill, C. A 537
Miles, G. G 512
IMcAdory, Chambers 508
McAdory, R. A 350
McCary, J. H 478
McCary, C. J 511
McCarthy, F. W 400
McClary, J. B 507
McCune, J .H 550
IMcEachin, A. B 370
McKinney, H. M 409
McLester, Joseph 400
Index to Biooi-aphies.
VxV
Moore, Moore <& Handley 4.S0
Moore, J. G ■"'70
Morehead, F. C 415
Morrow, J. C 315
Morrow, G. M 396
Mountjoy, C. A :!70
Mudd, W. S \'A\
Mudd, J. P 432
Nabers, \V. F ,. . . . 539
Naff, W. H '.. 499
Naff, J. M 575
Nicholson, Evan 541
O'Brien, Frank P 542
Oliver, Wm. G . 5'-'3
Olmstead, E. 1) 4S7
Owen, R. W 523
Fatty, H. M , 372
Peanson, R. IT 331
Peebles, J. PI 492
Perry, H. A\' 479
Ferryman & Dearborn 529
Phelan, John 540
Phillips, J. II 410
Porter, M. T 318
Porter, M. A 363
Porter, ^\ X 547
Price, Isaac 5G1
Read, John W 420
Reese, C. H 4()(!
Rancher, C. i? 52()
Richards, E. A . 523
Rogers, P. J 5G9
Roberts, Charles . . 416
Roden, B. F 441
Roden, J. B 483
Rowlett, Jr., Daniel 525
Russell, James M 366
Raps, George 553
Schillinger, Philip ^ 462
Schwab Jonas 496
Sears, J. W 387
Senn, Chas. A 305
Shackleford, J. D 496
Shahan, John 480
Sharpe, II. A 321
Shaw, Willis 476
Shepherd, CD 521
Sheppard, F. (J 5.33
Shideler, \V. L 465
Sidel, Edouanl 530
Sisson, ( '. W 458
Slade, C. E 548
Smith, Joseph R 378
Smith, D. D 369
Smith, T. S 489
Smith, H. D ... 519
Smith, P. R , 491
Smith, R. D 431
Smith, AV. C 516
Solomon &. Levi . . . . 554
Stevens, Jr., E. G 4,54
Stillman, J.JI.. . 516
Stiles, J. P :^77
Sterrett, R. H 351
Stone, Harry.. . 552
Strange, J. I) 373
Sutclirt'e, Armstrong & Willett 531
Tabor, B. H 361
Taliaferro, E. T 338
Tarrant, A.J 403
Terry, John T 332
Terry, Jr., John T 524
Thompson, T. G 490
Thompson, N. F . . 504
Thom.son, P. K 524
Thomson, John M 503
Thornton, T. F 497
Throckmorton, M. B .432
Tillman, J. P 3()1
Tomlinson, J. W . . 371
Torrey, Samuel 488
Truss, S. R ... 403
TjHer, A. A .544
Tvler, G. W .375
Underwood, \\'ni. T
Underwood, O. W ..
VanHoose, J. ]M . . .
Vanlloose, J. A....
Yaughan, A\'m
Veitch, John .
449
371
358
470
374
460
»vi
Index to Biographies.
W;Mle. A.C 533
Walker, Win. A .vSS
Walker, Jr., Wm. A 3l'8
Walker, E. W ..527
AVard, W. C 3o.t
Ward, G. R 543
Ware, J. A 529
Warren, Edward 507
Watkins, J. L 412
Watlington, H. L 37{)
Weatherly, James 362
Webb, James E 357
AVeil, M. & Bro 497
Westbrook, J. C 519
Whelan, Charles 390
^Whilden, B. D 487
Wilda, R. AV. A 546
Wilson, Rev. W. L 515
Wilson, J. W 493
Wilson, J. E 493
Wilson, H. F 525
Wilson, P. B . 515
Wilson, A. O 545
Williamson, C. P 444
AViun, H. J 398
Withington, M. E 492
Wood, C. W 464
Wood, W. H 540
Wooldridge, W. H 457 "
Yancey, AVm. E 495
Jeffersop ^oupty.
Je^^eyjori C^only*
ITS TOPOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, AND NATURAL RESOURCES.
HENRY McCALLEY, A. M., C. & M. E.
Chemist and Assistant State Geologist.
CHAPTER I.
General Description and Remarks.
Jefferson County is one of the central counties of Alabama, and is
the banner county of the South in such as will make it permanently rich
and prosperous, and in such as is of the greatest interest and importance
to mankind. Its topography is pleasing and striking, its geology is
interesting and instructive, and its natural resources are varied and
wonderful.
It is of a rectangular shape, and is about thirty-eight miles long,
from north-east to south-west, by some twenty-five miles wide from
north-west to south-east, thus embracing about 960 square miles. It is
preeminently a manufacturing county, and is destined, from the very
nature of things, to take a front rank in the variety and value of its
manufactured goods and in its railroad facilities. It presents, as its chief
advantages and inducements to the manufacturers of iron, cotton, glass,
wooden, and other goods, cheap raw materials, cheap power, cheap
Jefferson County.
transportation, cheap homes, cheap fuel, cheap food, and a healthy and
invigorating climate, comparatively free from all the rigors of a Northern
winter and the scorching sun of a Southern summer. Its industries are
rapidly advancing and multiplying, and its properties are rapidly increas-
ing in value. This rapid increase is confined to no particular branch of
its industries and to no single element of its prosperity, but they all
appear to have the motto, "Onward and Upward," and everywhere there
is to be seen push, activity, enterprise, and progress. The increase in its
taxable property, as returned by the assessor, was nearly $3,000,000 for
the year 1885, ^"^ it will be much more for the year 1886. This almost
unparalleled increase is due principally to the great prosperity of its
present or established industries and to the introduction of its numerous
new ones. In the building of new railroads, it is especially on a big
boom. Besides being traversed by three great trunk railroad lines, it will
soon be penetrated to its very heart's core by four others that are now
being built, and very likely by still three others that have been survej'ed
and will most probably be built. When all of its projected railroads
shall have been built, its capital city, Birmingham, will be the greatest
railroad center of the South.
Its population is also growing rapidly. By the census of 1880 it
had a population of only 23,272 (whites, 18,219; colored, 5,053), and
now Birmingham alone has some 30,000, and the county must have near
60,000, though the tide of immigration has just set in. Of these many
new-comers there have been seen but very few discofitents and drones.
They are principally skilled laborers of intelligence, integrity, industry,
and enterprise, and to them it should be said : If, with well-directed
energy, you will but bend yourselves with patience and perseverance to
the tasks set before you, you will inevitably succeed, and will be assured
as to your reward, plenty, and prosperity.
Geological History.
This county was once throughout but a part of a vast sandy plain
that gently sloped to the S.-W.-S., and had not a single elevation or
depression of any kind to relieve the monotony of the scenery. This
monotonous sandy plain covered, at the least, one-half of the northern
half of the State and formed the then Coal Measures of Alabama.
Things were thus when the eastern part of the United States was
subjected to such a disturbance, or revolution, as it has never felt before
or since. This revolution has been characterized as the Appalachian
Its Topogyaplty, Geology, and NaUtral Resoitrces. 19
revolution, and during it there was thrown up, in a general north-east
and south-west direction, and somewhat parallel to the Atlantic coast
from Canada to Central Alabama, a series of mountains that have
received the name of the Appalachian chain. In the upheaval of some
of these mountains, the strata were too stiff to bend in the sharp folds
into which they were pressed, and so they were cracked along the lines
of greatest strain, usually the tops of the mountains. These cracks
furnished ready-made channels for the denuding streams that have
washed these mountains down into anticlinal valleys with elevated rims.
In some instances, in this folding or mountain-making process, the strata
were so stiff as to bend but very little, if any at all, and hence, in these
cases, they were not only cracked, but on one side of the crack were
pushed up over the corresponding strata on the other side, producing
what is known as faults. These faults are common throughout the
Appalachian chain of mountains, and sometimes are miles in length, andl
have vertical displacements of the strata of thousands of feet. These
upheavals or mountains, with their subsequent denudation, changed the
topographical features and geological structure of the country traversed
by them from one of sameness to one of variety and interest. They
gave the general directions to the main streams of the country near them,
and oftentimes threw up and left grand natural boundaries between the
different geological formations. In this county, as elsewhere, they form
one of the most remarkable instances on record c le adaptation of the
earth's surface to man's wants. For, had the county remained as it
originally was, one monotonous sandy plain, or had its rocks or geological
strata retained their original horizontal positions, much of our best and
now easily available coal would have been buried so deep below the
surface that it never would have been reached by the hand of man, and
the existence of our most valuable and vast deposits of iron ores and
limestones never would have been even suspected. If they had have
been suspected, they never would have done us any good, as they were a
mile or so below the surface. The revealing and making available to us
of this great hidden wealth of coal, iron, and limestone, rendered especially
valuable from the manner in which they were thrown together in close
juxtaposition, are not the only beneficial effects that we have received
from these upheavals and denudations. They made and left us valleys of
great fertility, that form, through our most important mineral section,
the great commercial highways between the North-east and the South-
west, with firm natural roadbeds, for hundreds of miles, even up to the
mouths of our mines. These great results vvere brought about by the
Jefferson Coji7ity.
simplest possible means, though in a most effectual and interesting way,
namely: By the mere pushing up of the valuable strata, and the washing
off of their heavy cover, along narrow strips of land. These narrow
strips of land, washed out into anticlinal valleys, divide the Coal Measures
of Alabama into three more or less distinct parts, that were named by
Prof. Tuomey, in 1849, the Warrior, Cahaba, and Coosa Coal Fields,
respectively, from the names of the rivers which drain them. These
coal fields show that they are not separate coal basins, strictly speaking,
in that they do not occur in circular or oval forms, but in long and trough-
shaped areas with elevated rims that are the results of uplifting forces.
In the washing out of the anticlinal valleys that separate these coal fields
the Coal Measures of Alabama have lost several thousand square miles
of their original extent, and so Alabama now ranks only eighth of the
States of the Union in the acreage of its Coal Measures ; it, however, is
one of the very first in the quantity and quality of its coal. One of the
cracked and washed-out mountains of the Appalachian region was
pushed up across this county, and a second one was in line to cross this
county, but died out just as it reached the county. The one that crosses
this county is the elevated valley, with raised limits, in which Birmingham
is situated. The elevation of this valley is shown from the fact that its
floor is higher than the mountainous country on each side of the valley
or is a water divide for about 100 miles in Alabama. It is the divide
between the waters of the Warrior and Cahaba Rivers, and hence
separates the Warrior and Cahaba Coal Fields.
Topography, Etc.
The topographical features of this county are varied and picturesque,
as well as pleasing and striking, and consist principally in the surface
configuration, produced by upheavals, denudation, and the geological
structure.
This county lies between 33° 15' and 33° 45' N. latitude and between
9° 24' and 10° 10' W. longitude from Washington. Its altitudes vary
from about 260 feet to 900 feet above the Gulf of Mexico, and its atmos-
phere is clear, pure, dry, and crisp, without any dampness or heaviness.
Its climate is comparatively mild ; its mean winter temperature, for
December, January, and February, being about 42° F. ; its mean summer
temperature, for June, July, and August, being about ']'j° F., and its mean
annual temperature being about 58° F. It has a winter rainfall, with
melted snow, for December, Januarj-, and February, of about fourteen
Its Topography, Geology, and Natural Resources. 2 1
inches; a summer rainfall, for June, July, and August, of also about
fourteen inches, and an annual rainfall, with melted snow, of about fifty-
five inches.
Water and Drainage. — This county is well watered with springs and
streams of perpetual flow, and is so drained that there are but few
marshes and malarial regions within its bounds. It has, extending along
its whole length, near, and somewhat parallel, to its two edges, two swiftly
running rivers, and crossing its interior, at intervals of every few miles,
are large creeks with rapid currents. These large creeks rise on the
divide, or in the anticlinal valley, between the rivers and near the south-
east edge, in beautiful and bold everlasting limestone springs, and, with
but one exception, flow in a general north-west direction, across almost
the entire width of the county, and empty into the great drainage channel
of the county, the Warrior River.
Grozvth. — This county is still, for the most part, covered with its
native forest, which includes a vast amount and a great variety of valuable
timber. Its large growth consists, in the order of their abundance, of
oaks, pines, gums, hickories, dogwoods, cedars, chestnut, poplar, cypress,
etc. The oaks are principally post oaks and black jacks, with a consid-
erable mixture of red, Spanish, white, and chestnut oaks. The pines are
of both the short and long leaf varieties, though chiefly of the former.
The gums are of the sweet and sour kind, and the hickories are of the
several species. The dogwoods are of the comparatively low grounds,
while the cedars cover the limestone ridges, knolls, and glades. The
chestnut, poplar, and cypress were once abundant, but are now quite
scarce.
Soils. — The soils or lands over the greater part of this county have
heretofore been held in bad repute, and have been neglected as farming
lands simply because they were naturally poor for the great staples of
the "Old South," cotton and corn. Within the last few years, however,
since phosphatic guano and other fertilizers have come into common use,
these lands have grown very much in appreciation, until now those which
were formerly considered the most worthless or poorest are being looked
upon and sought after as the most valuable and reliable for even cotton
and corn. Cotton and corn, however, are not the crops for these lands,
or for the " Hill Country of Alabama," and the sooner our people find it
out the better it will be for them and for the State. These lands, as well
as the climate, are peculiarly adapted to the raising of fruits and veg-
etables, crops with which the markets of the world are seldom, if ever,
glutted ; and to the nurseryman, vineyardist, and horticulturist, whom
Jefferso7i County.
the county invites to come and supply its large and rapidly-increasing
demands for a greater variety of home-raised, fresh, and wholesome food
products, these lands are all that could be desired. Nature intended
them for gardens, orchards, vineyards, and pastures, and just in the same
proportion as the farming class recognize this fact or law, and act upon
it, or put their means, brains, and hands to the raising of vegetables,
fruits, and grasses, will they prosper, and will this beautiful and healthy
mountainous region blossom and bear fruit.
Production. — By the census of 1880, only one-eighth of this county,
or about 72,000 acres, was in cultivation. Of these 72,000 acres, 14,220
were in cotton, with a yield of 5,333 bales of 400 pounds each; 30,928
were in Indian corn, with a yield of 429,660 bushels ; 4,708 were in oats,
with a yield of 60,038 bushels; 55 were in tobacco, with a yield of
17,649 pounds, and 504 were in potatoes, with a yield of 44,091 bushels.
N.\TUKAL Divisions.
The topographical features, as well as the geological structure, of this
county were, as has been seen, very much effected by the upheav^als and
denudation of the Appalachian region, or by the anticlinal valley which
crosses this county and divides it into three very unequal and distinct
parts. These parts are separated from each other by the raised rims to
the anticlinal valley, and therefore consist of the anticlinal valley itself
and the portions of the county respectively to the north-west and south-
east of this valley. The two outside portions are of one and the same
geological formation, as was the whole county previous to the mountain-
making epoch of the Appalachian revolution, namely, the Coal Measures ;
but the middle or anticlinal valley portion is of pushed-up older and lower
rocks, geologically speaking, or contains representatives of all of the
geological formations that occur in Alabama between the Carboniferous
and Lower Silurian, inclusive. As these parts, or natural divisions, of the
county are entirely different, as to their topographical features and
geological structure, they will be considered separately, and will be
designated, commencing with the most north-western or largest one,
as Part I, II, and III.
Its Topography , Geology, and Natitral Resources.
PART I.
Of the Warrior Coal Field.
Its Coal Measures and its Coal : Stnicture and Unequaled Thickness, General
Section, Extraordinary Ouatttity, Quality, and Value of its Coals — The
Warrior Field in Jefferson County : The Nature, Quantity, and Quality
of its Coals, with Analyses a?id Tests ; their Adaptation to Cheap Mvdng
and Cheap Tratisportation ; the Number of Coal Mines and their Coal
Output ; the Uses of this Coal.
The Warrior Coal Field embraces all of the Coal Measures in
Alabama north-west of the Alabama Great Southern Railroad, or all of
those drained by the Warrior and Tennessee Rivers. This area has been
estimated at 7,810 square miles, or, as nearly two-thirds as much as the
coal area of Great Britain. It is to the north-west of the principal axis
of the Appalachian revolution, and the original horizontal position of its
strata, away from its uplifted edges, was not very much effected by the
upheavals of that revolution, and its topographical features, away from
these uplifted edges, have not the same intimate connection with the
geological structure that those areas have which are more in the direct
line of action of the above named revolution.
This coal field, as a whole, is a trough-shaped area, extending length-
wise from north-east to south-west, and is much broken, especially along
the water courses. It consists, as do all of our coal fields, of a series of
sandstones, conglomerates, shales, slates, clays, and coal seams, with,
locally at least, a few thin seams of impure limestone. Its measures are
characterized by the greatest abundance of fossils, which are well
preserved, and are found principally in the shales overlying the coal
seams. Among these fossils there are some stems of very large plants that
belong to the genera Sigillaria, Lipidodendron, and Calamites. These
fossil trunks of trees are usually of light carbonaceous sandstones,
frequently distinctly marked, and sometimes as much as three feet in
diameter. They are occasionally found standing perpendicularly upon
the coal seams and extending up into the roofs or covers, leaving little
doubt but that they grew as they were found. This position of the fossil
coal plants in place, taken in connection with the richness of the coal
seams in well-preserved fossils, would seem to indicate that the vast
amount of vegetable matter of which these coal seams were formed,
grew and accumulated over the very areas now covered by the coal seams.
24 Jefferson Coimty.
The general dip of its strata is a few degrees to the S. -\V.-S. , but
as this dip is something less than the general inclination of the surface,
the measures continue to thicken to the south-west until they become
covered up by a newer formation. This regular and small angle of dip
of its strata is characteristic of the Warrior Field when compared with the
other two coal fields of Alabama. To give to this area a trough or basin
shape, the strata of the south-east side have an additional dip to the
north-west, from the elevated south-east rim, and those of the north-^\ est
side have a dip to the south-east. The strata of these two sides are also
in long, flat waves from north-west to south-east, while those of the center
of the trough are in similar waves from north-east to south-west.
This field has been conveniently and appropriately divided into a
plateau and basin area, without any distinct line of demarcation between
the two, the one gradually merging into the other.
The plateau is composed principally of the hard, weather-resisting
conglomerates and sandstones near the base of the measures, und
comprises the elevated north-eastern part of the field and a portion
of the south-eastern rim. It is divided into two parts by Brown's Valley,
which is the extension into Alabama of the great Sequatchie Vallc\- of
Tennessee.
The basin takes in the lower or south-west end, and the greater half
of the field. It is, as a general thing, more broken than the plateau, for
the reason that it is composed principally of softer rocks which have
suffered more from denudation. Its upper or north-eastern end is made
forked by the extending down into it, between Big and Little Warrior
Rivers, almost to their fork, the prolongation of Brown's Valley as an
unbroken anticlinal ridge. It is made up, above drainage level, for the
most part, of shales and sandstones piled up to a great thickness of
successive strata upon the hard conglomerates and sandstones of the
plateau. This basin is very rich in workable seams of coal, which
increase in number to the south-west until the Coal Measures become
entirely covered up at Tuscaloosa.
Little Basin. — There is cut off, by a combined fold and vault, from
the south-east edge of the Warrior Field, a strip of land, about twelve
miles long by over three in width, that has received the name of the
Little Basin. It is a complete tray-shape depression, rounding in a general
north-east and south-west direction, or with the bordering anticlinal
valley. Its upper or north-east end is, however, concave, and its south-
east rim. Rock Mountain, the uplifted edge of the Warrior Coal Field,
composed of the hard conglomerates and sandstones of the plateau, is
Its Topography, Geology, mid Natural Resoiirces. 25
much taller than its north-west border, formed by an anticlinal fold with
a fault along it. Along this fault there has been a great vertical
displacement of the strata by an upheaval of the south-east or Little
Basin side.
The Warrior Coal Field and the great Appalachian Coal Field end, so
far as can be seen, on the south-west in the rocks in the bed of the Warrior
River at Tuscaloosa, or just below the head of navigation of that river.
At and near this most south-western visible end, these coal fields are
believed to have their greatest thickness of Coal Measures and their great-
est number of coal seams. These Coal Measures, under and near Tusca-
loosa, are believed to be over 3,000 feet thick, and to contain some 53
seams of coal, with a combined thickness of about 125 feet of coal.
Jefferson County comprises about 630 square miles of the Warrior
Coal Field. As stated, all that part of the county north-west of the Anti-
clinal Valley is of this field. This area is of a rectangular shape, running
lengthwise with the Anticlinal Valley. It is a great synclinal trough, or
scoop-shape depression, with all of its south-east rim and about two-thirds
of its north-west border, parts of great and parallel anticlinal folds. The
south-east fold is of the Anticlinal Valley and extends clear through the
county, while the fold of the north-west border is the south-west terminus
of the great Sequatchie Valley of Tennessee or of Brown's Valley of
Alabama, as an unbroken and undenuded fold, or it is the south-west
terminus of the mountain that is said to have merely touched or reached
this county before dying out. Of these two folds or rims, in this county,
the south-eastern one, as a whole, is much the higher, though a portion of
this south-eastern rim is of a down-throw along faults, and is not very
elevated. This south-east rim is from 300 to 600 feet above the Warrior
River, while the fold of the north-west border is only about 200 feet above
this river, which runs along close to its base. The elevated south-east
rim, with the exception of the portion in the down-throw, is composed,
for the most part, of the hard and massive conglomerate, called Millstone
Grit, and sandstones near the base of the Coal Measures, and is known as
Rock Mountain, while the surface rocks of the fold of the north-west border,
though hard and massive, are somewhat softer, lighter, and higher in the
measures, except as this fold enters the county in the extreme northern
part.
The Millstone Grit, in its out-crops capping the south-east rim or Rock
Mountain, is usually either perpendicular or is so bent over on itself as to
throw its bottom on top or to reverse its north-west dip to the south-east.
Along the south-east base of this mountain, or between the capping
26 Jefferso7i County.
Millstone Grit and the lower and older rocks of the Anticlinal Valley, there
is nearly always a mass of debris that hides the underlying strata, though
they are known to cover, through the greater length of this county, a
fault that frequently brings Lower Silurian rocks of the valley side in con-
tact with the Coal Measures.
Next to upheavals and denudations, such hard, weather-resisting rocks
as the above Millstone Grit, are the most important factors in determining
surface configuration or variety and picturesqueness of scenery. Hence,
the surface of that portion of the Warrior field which is in Jefferson
County is most irregular, and its physical features are most varied and
striking, along the south-east and north-west boundaries, where the
upheavals and denudations have been greatest and where these hard rocks
are most highly exposed. . As stated, this area is a synclinal trough, and
hence, in a general way, it is made up of two water-sheds. These water-
sheds are very unequal ; the one on the south-east or the north-west
water-shed of the elevated south-east rim forming the greater part of the
area. On these water-sheds, and especially on the greater one, there are
smaller ridges which run up and down the trough, or parallel to the
elevated outside ridges or folds. These inside or smaller ridges are the
results of waves in the strata, and of the out-croppings of the harder and
more indestructible strata.
The Warrior River flows along near the juncture of the above water
sheds, or near the bottom of the trough, and owes its general direction to
that of the trough. This river, with its arteries, or large side streams,
keeps this portion, or the greater portion, of the county well drained.
Being a trough the strata of the two sides or of the above water
sheds, in addition to their general dip of 3° or 4° to the south-west, have
general dips toward the river or bottom of the trough, and are in long,
flat waves in the same direction, while those of the bottom of the trough
are in similar waves in the direction of the trough.
The south-east edge of this field, along the Anticlinal Valley, is
especially complicated by folds and faults. These folds have one general
direction, that of the Anticlinal Valley, while the faults run not only in this
same general direction but also somewhat at right angle to it. Locally
the directions of the folds and faults are sometimes quite different from
the above, for they have been seen in certain localities to be running
almost due north and south and east and west.
Along the north-east and south-west faults, or those in the direction
of the anticlinal valleys, the vertical displacements of strata are much
greater than in the cross faults, or those at right angle to this direction.
lis Topos^rapliy, Geology, and Natural Reso^irces. 27
These north-east and south-west faults do not always run parallel to the
Anticlinal Valley, or to the south-east edge of the Warrior Coal Field, but
sometimes run in and out the Coal Measures, as these measures encroach
upon the valley, and cut off, on the Anticlinal Valley side, strips from the
Coal Measures. The Little Basin is an example of this cutting-off process.
The upper half of this little basin is in Jefferson County.
The Coal Measures of the Warrior Field in this county are complicated
in other ways than by folds and faults. The same strata, for instance, are
always more or less variable, though not more so than in other parts of this
same field or in other fields. The number of strata, and the distance
between two well-known strata, are sometimes quite different at localities
only a few miles apart. This difference is likely due to the splitting up of
some, by the interpolation of others, and by variableness in the same
strata which may result in the thickening of a mere streak to a stratum
several or many feet in thickness, or the reverse. Again, the strata,
frequently without breaking, suddenly fall from one elevation to that of
another several feet lower, and sometimes, at least, after a short distance,
as suddenly resume or jump back to their former place or horizontal level.
The strata are frequently also falsely bedded, and are oftentimes cut up by
vertical parallel planes of division running in the general directions of the
faults.
As stated, there are supposed to be 53 searas of coal in the Warrior
Coal Field. These seams vary in thickness from a few inches to 14 feet.
There are twenty five of them of workable thickness, or that contain 18
inches and over, each, in thickness of pure coal. Of these 25 seams, 14
have 2 feet 6 inches and over, each, in thickness of clean coal ; of these 14
seams, 9 have over 4 feet, each, in thickness of coal, and of these 9 seams,
3 have more than 6 feet, each, in thickness of coal. These coal seams, in
their out-crops, are thinner on the north-west side of the field than they are
near the center and south-east side. This is doubtless due to the fact that
the north-west side of the field is near the north-west edge of the original
coal basin of Alabama, whereas the present south-east limits of the field,
the Anticlinal Valley, ran through the central portion of the original coal
basin of Alabama, and were thrown up and washed out as limits after the
coals had been deposited.
It has been estimated that, if these coal seams will but hold through-
out their entire extent a thickness equivalent to that of their most reliable
and accurate measurements, the Warrior Coal Field will contain a sum total
of coal of not less than 113,119,000,000 tons, of which amount 108,394,-
■000,000 tons would be of the workable seams, or of the seams which
28 Jefferson County.
contain i8 inches and over, each, in thickness of clean coal. There is
great significance attached to these figures ; they tell us that the coal in
the workable seams of the Warrior Field is three times the estimated
available bituminous and semi-bituminous coals of the great coal-producing
State of Pennsylvania, and that, if this coal was spread out evenly over
the surface, it would cover the whole State of Alabama (52,250 square
miles in extent) over two feet in thickness, and that, at the present rate
of consumption of coals of all kinds, it would last the whole world over
270 years. This workable coal, at the mouths of the mines, would be
worth now about $ 150,000,000,00x3, of which at least 130,000,000,000 is
profit. This profit money is nearly two hundred times the present total
assessed value of property in Alabama, and would about buy every foot of
territory in the State at $900 per acre.
Of the fifty-three coal seams of the Warrior Field, forty-five are
included in the Coal Measures of Jefferson County. These forty-five coal
seams vary in thickness from a few inches to fourteen feet, and contain a
combined average thickness of about one hundred feet of coal. Of these
forty-five coal seams, nineteen have each an average thickness of two feet
and over of clean coal, with an average combined thickness of about sev-
enty feet of clean coal; of these nineteen seams, twelve have each an
average thickness of three feet and over, and an average combined thickness
of nearly fifty-three feet of clean coal ; of these twelve seams, eight have
each an average thickness of four feet, and over, of clean coal, with an
average combined thickness of over forty feet of clean coal, and of these
eight seams, there are three seams that have each an average thickness
of five feet, and over, of clean coal, and an average combined thickness of
over twenty-five feet of clean coal.
A better idea can be given of tl/e thickness, position, etc., of these
different coal seams, and of the other strata of the Coal Measures of the
Warrior Field in Jefferson County by a section than perhaps can be given
in any other way. The reader is therefore respectfully referred to the
following general section.
Nothing more than an approximation is claimed for this section,
though, so far as the coal seams are concerned, it is believed to be a
close approximation. Much credit is due to a section by Mr. T. H.
Aldrich, and one by Mr. Howard Douglass, for aid received in the
making out of this general section.
Its Topography, Geology, and Natural Resources. 29
A General Section of the Strata above Drainage Level of the Coal Measures
of the Warrior Field in Jefferson County.
Sandstones, shales ; surface rocks along the south-
west county line.
(45) Coal i ft. 7
Sandstones, shales 20 ft. to 35 ft. o
(44) Coal 8 in to o ft. 10
Shales, sandstones 10 ft. to 30 ft. O
(43) Coal: University Seam . . . . 2 ft. to 5 ft. o
Sandstones, shales 1 5 ft. o
(42) Coal, slate ; in alternate streaks . . . i ft. 4
Sandstones, shales 20 ft. to 25 ft. O
(41) Coal 9 in. to i ft. 3
Sandstones, shales, about 1 5 ft. o
(40) Coal i ft. 8 in. to i ft. 9
Sandstones, shales . . 25 ft. o
(39) Coal 5 in. to i ft. 6
Conglomerates, sandstones 34 ft. o
rCoAL . . . ; I ft. 2
(38) I Fire clay 5 in. to 5 ft. o
i Coal i ft. o
Fire clay ; fossiliferous 3 ft o
Sandstones, shales 8 ft. to 10 ft. o
(37) Coal 2 in. to o ft. 9
Sandstones, shales 30 ft. to 35 ft. o
(36) Coal 8
Shales, sandstones . . .. 80 ft to 8$ ft. o
(35) Coal; with a 3 in. slate parting . . . . i ft. 3
Fire clay ; very fossiliferous 3 ft. o
Shales, sandstones 40 ft. o
(34) Coal o to i ft. 2
Shales, about 40 ft. o
(33) Coal ; Pratt Seam 2 ft. to 7 ft. o
Fire clay 2 ft. to 10 ft. o
Sandstones, shales, clays . . 20 ft. to 30 ft. o
(32) Coal; fire clay seam . . . 1 ft. 4 in. to 2 ft. 6
Fire clay i ft. to i ft. 6
Conglomerates, sandstones, shales, 25 ft. to 40 ft.
30
Jefferson Co::nty.
(28)
(27)
(26)
(25)
(24)
(23)
(22)
f Coal . . . . i ft. to 2 ft. o in. ) 3
Clay slate . . 6 in. to 7 ft. 3 in. g
f,i J Co.AL . . . . I ft. to 2 ft. 8 in. I S 2 ft. 6 in. to
Vj'm / -j; 17 ft 2 in
I Clay slate . . . O to i ft. 9 in. 5
I Co.'iL o to 3 ft. 6 in. •"
Sandstones, shales 25 ft. to 50 ft. o in.
(30) Co.\L : with slate partings . . . 10 in. 8 ft. c in.
P'ire clay 2 ft. o in.
Sandstones, shales ; with black band
and clay iron stone . . . 10 ft. to 50 ft. o in.
Conglomerates o to 6 ft. o in.
(29) Coal ; with a thin slate parting' . . o to i ft. O in.
Shales, sandstones, Limestones, 50 ft. to 300 ft. o in.
Conglomer.vtes o to 7 ft. o in.
Sandstones 10 ft. o in.
' Coal ; with slate partings, '\
2 ft. 4 in. to 9 ft. 6 in. I
Sandstones, shales, clays, ] § 2 ft. 4 in. to
O to 12 ft. O in, I g 27 ft. 6 in.
Coal ; with slate partings,
O to 6 ft. O in. J
Fire clay 3 ft. o in.
Sandstones, shales 20 ft. o in.
Coal o to 2 ft. o in.
Sandstones, shales ... . 10 ft. to 50 ft. O in.
Coal; with slate partings . . . . o to 8 ft. o in.
Sandstones, Conglomer.\tes, shales, slate,
25 ft. to 50 ft. o in.
CoAi o to o ft. 2 in.
Sandstones; with thin seams of coal . 20 ft. O in.
Coal 4 in. to i ft. o in.
Sandstones, shales 25 ft. to 30 ft. o in.
Coal; Baker's Upper Bed . . 10 in. to 2 ft. o in.
Shales, sandstones, fire clay . 20 ft. to 50 ft. o in.
Coal; Baker's Lower Bed, Freel's Seam,
2 ft. to 6 ft. o in.
Shales, sandstones 20 ft. to 40 ft. o in.
Black Band o to 2 ft. o in.
Shales, sandstones 5 ft. to 20 ft. o in.
Its Topography, Geology, a7id Natural Resources.
(21) Coal; with slate and clay parting. Newcastle,
Mt. Carmel, Townley, Jaggers, etc.
5 ft. O in. to 14 ft. o in.
Sandstones, shales ; with kidney ore,
15 ft. to 60 ft. O in.
(20) Co.^l; poor, slaty 10 in. to 3 ft. O in.
Fire clay, i ft. to 3 ft. O in.
Sandstones, shales 10 ft. to 50 ft. o in.
(19) Coal trace to 2 ft. 6 in.
Shales, sandstones 15 ft. to 25 ft. o in.
Black Band o to 1 ft. 4 in.
Sandstones, shales 15 ft. to 25 ft. o in.
f Coal ; soft . . . . o to 2 ft. 9 in. 1
, „, Fire clay ... . o to i ft. o in. . ^ .
(18) <^ r^, , r . oto 21 ft. 6 in.
^ ' Shales O to 12 ft. O m.
I Coal o to 4 ft. 9 in. J
Shales, sandstones 20 ft. to 25 ft. o in.
Conglomerates 16 ft. to 40 ft. o in.
Slate O to I ft. O in.
(17) Co.\L ; bony i ft. to 3 ft. O in.
Fire clay o to 2 ft. o in.
Sandstones, shales; with some streaks of coal,
25 ft. to 125 ft. Gin.
(16) Coal ; peacock luster . . . . 4 in. to I ft. 4 in.
Sandstones, shales 30 ft. to 50 ft. o in.
f Coal ; with thin slate parting, ^
2 ft. to 4 ft. o in. \ "-^
/N I Sandstones . . 0 to 9 ft. o in. [ ^ 2 ft. to 19 ft.
^ ' * CoAi o to I ft. 6 in. I 2 2 in.
Sandstones . . . oto 4 ft. O in. .3
^ Coal ; very good, o to o ft. 9 in. J
Fire clay 3 ft. O in.
Sandstones, shales 20 ft. to 50 ft. O in.
(14) Coal; Black Creek Seam . 2 ft. 4 in. to 6 ft. o in.
Sandstones, shales, Limestones,
50 ft. to 140 ft. o in.
( 1 3) Coal o to i ft. o in.
Sandstones, shales, with perhaps some coal
streaks 60 ft. to 225 ft. O in.
32
Jefferson Comity.
(12)
(II)
(lO)
(9)
(8)
(7)
(6)
(S)
(4)
(3)
(2)
(0
° 3 ft. lo in.
c/j to 39 ft. 8 in.
Co.\L I ft. to I ft. 2 in.
Sandstones, shales . . . . 30 ft. to 125 ft. O in.
Black Band. The black band'
in places becomes coal,
3 in. to 4 ft. o in.
Shale ; hard fossiliferous,
O to 18 ft. o in.
Coal i ft. o in.
Shale ... 3 in. to 17 ft. o in.
^CoAL 2 ft. 4 in.
Fire clay 4 ft. o in.
Sandstones, shales 16 ft. to 20 ft. O in.
Coal i ft. 8 in. to 2 ft. 4 in.
Sandstones, shales 7 ft. 6 in.
Coal ; Naber's Seam 2 ft. 2 in.
Fire clay 6 ft. 10 in.
Shales, sandstones 295 ft. o in.
Coal i ft. 6 in.
Fire clay i ft. o in.
Sandstones, shales 16 ft. o in.
Coal i ft. 4 in.
Shales ; with fossil coal plants . . . . 1 2 ft. o in.
Coal; good 2 ft. 6 in.
Sandstones, shales 500 ft. O in.
Coal 6 in.
Shales, sandstones 35 ft. o in.
Coal i ft. o in.
Shales ; about 5 ft. O in.
Conglomerates ; Upper Conglomerate of
Tennessee 30 ft. to 50 ft. o in.
Coal i ft. o in.
Shales, sandstones 50 ft. o in.
Conglomerate ; Millstone Grit,
Lower Conglomerate of Tennessee, etc.
40 ft. to 75 ft. O in.
Coal ; about 1 ft. o in.
Shales; fossiliferous ... . 3 ft. to 10 ft. o in.
Coal; slaty 10 in.
Shales, sandstones 30 ft. to 35 ft. o in.
Sub-carboniferous Strata.
Its Topography, Geology, and Natural Resources. 33
In this county, the coals of the above section cover about the follow-
ing areas: From (i) to (12), inclusive, 575 square miles; from (13) to
(16), inclusive, 515 square miles; from (17) to (25), inclusive, 440 square
miles; from (26) to (28), inclusive, 385 square miles; from (29) to (35),
inclusive, 180 square miles, and from (36) to (45), inclusive, 30 square
miles. This data, allowing 1,000,000 tons of coal to the square mile for
every foot in thickness, gives 26,865,000,000 tons as the sum total of the
clean coal contained in the seams two feet and over in thickness in the
Warrior Field in this county. At the present rate, 1,400,000 tons per
annum, of mining this workable coal in this county, it will take over 1900
years to exhaust the clean coal of the seams that are two feet and over in
thickness. Much of this coal, however, will never be mined, from the
fact that it is at too great a depth below the surface ; though more than
one-fourth of it, or about 7,000,000,000 tons, is within 300 feet of the
surface, and can be mined cheaply by drifts and slopes. The above clean
coal, of this county, of the seams that are two feet and over in thickness,
would be worth now, at the mouths of the mines, about §57,947,000,000,
of which sum about §7,589,000,000 would be profit.
These coals are all bituminous coals, and, as a class, are better than
the average bituminous coals. They are of almost every variety : some
of them are bright and hard, and are well adapted to handling and stock-
ing, while others are of a duller color, and of a softer or more friable and
crumbly nature ; some of them seem to be peculiarly fitted for coking,
for iron-ore smelting, and for foundry and blacksmithing purposes, while
others do not coke at all, but are excellent heating and steaming coals.
They all burn freely, and most of them are well suited for making gas.
Some of them have a vertical flaggy structure, or a regular face and butt
structure, while others are divided up by joints into cubical and rhom-
boidal blocks, and others still are devoid of any regular forms or are solid
and compact throughout. Some of them on being exposed to the
weather quickly crumble, while others, to the naked eye, are not effected
for years. Many of them contain considerable mineral charcoal, princi-
pally in thin sheets along the planes of stratification, and some of them
are very pure coals or contain a large percentage of fixed carbon with but
very little ash and clinker, while others are bony and slaty. Some of
them, however, look slaty when they are not ; the dull luster being due
to the casts of plants along the seams of division or stratification. The
most of these coals have been judged of solely from their exposed out-
crops, and it is a well known fact that all bituminous coals deteriorate, or
lose in their gas-giving and heating qualities on weathering, though they
3
34
Jefferson County.
retain their forms and to all appearances are not effected ; hence it is very
likely that most of them have been underestimated.
The following analyses of freshly mined and average samples will
serve to show the quality of these coals :
Name of Coal Seivui.
Specific Gravity
Sulphur
Moisniri'
Volatile Matter,
Fixed Carbon . .
Ash
Pratt.
1.200
1.041
l.OL'.i
32.1t;9
63.370
3.3-12
New
Castlo
XA
.SO
28.24
59.69
10.02
Black
Creek.
.10
.12
26.11
71.64
2.03
AVatt or Warrior.
Jefferson or Pierce..
1.112
1.611
33.004
61. 7S")
2.4S.S
32.24
65.12
1.27
These seams occur in the upper, middle, and lower part of the meas-
ures, as may be seen from an inspection of the General Section.
Chemical analyses will show the compositions of coals, but will not
show how they are put together, and as their true values and fitness for
certain purposes are largely dependent on their mechanical make-up or
physical structure, the best tests of their worth are actual experiments and
uses on a large scale, and hence the following table is appended to show
the standing of some Alabama coals, as compared with well known
coals of other States for heating or steaming purposes :
Name of
Coal.
Cumberlanil .
Pratt
Fouiuls of water
evaporated from and
at 212° per lb. of
coal.
.8.21.
.8.04.
Percent, of non-
combustible from
combustion under
boiler.
.11..
Relative heatiu.t; or
steaming values.
Cumberland, Md.
being 100.
.100.0.
Jellico 7.45 ! 6.3 : 90.7.
Pittsbur!:; ! 7.63 7.4 j 92.0.
Altmont : 7.41 I S.-'i | 90.:'..
St. Bernanl ' 6.73 1 6.0 1 82 0.
Warrior i 7.73 ! 4.6 1 94.2.
Helena i 7.58 ' 7.7 ! 92.:;.
Watt 7.11 t 13.2 j 86.6.
Diamond i 6.20 1 10.2 ! 75.."> .
Mud EivL-r ! 6.89 4.6 ; 8:!.0 .
Memphis [ 6.4.5 i 8.5 ' 7S.ii.
Clifton ' 5.74 14.6 60.0.
Sewaneu | 7.37.
Cahaba 1 7.6.5.
Blocton j 7.37.
Black Cri.L 7.(i3.
Henry Ell'n 7.25.
Daisy ' 7.16.
.11.;?.
89..S.
5.0. ,
5.7.
4.0.
9;?.2.
80.S.
92.0.
. 5.2.
.11.4.
88.3.
87.2.
Name of
State.
Maryland.
Alabama.
Tennessee.
Pennsylvania.
Kentucky.
Kentucky.
Alabama.
Alabama.
Alabama.
Kentucky.
Illinois.
Kentucky.
Kentucky.
Tennessee.
Alabama.
Alabama.
Alabama.
Alabama.
Tennessee.
The above table is an abstract of the results of tests made by Prof.
Its Topography, Geology, and A^atiiral Reso?cncs. 35
O. H. Landreth, at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, between
March I2th and May 22nd, 1885, In these tests ten tons of coal from
each mine were used, and in case of the Alabama coals we have been
told that some of them, at least, were not picked coals or were not
intended for this purpose, but were taken from their regular marl<etable
screened products. These tests show up the Alabama coals in a most
favorable light, and demonstrate that one-half of the eight tested were
excelled for steaming purposes by only the Cumberland coal, and that the
lowest Alabama coal on the graded list was superior for these purposes
to several of the coals brought from other States. Four of these Alabama
coals, those in italics, namely : the Pratt, the Warrior, the Watt, and the
Black Creek, were from the Warrior Field, in this county ; the other four
were from the Cahaba Field. The analyses of these four coals of the
Warrior field have already been given.
The coals of the Warrior Field have a great advantage over the coals
of many other fields in the ease and cheapness with which they can
be mined. In the case of this field, the physical features of the measures,
the small angle of dip, the structure of the coals, and the solid roofs and
soft underbeds are all conducive to cheap mining. The only drawback
that any of these coals have to cheap mining is that the thicker seams
always have thin interstratified partings of slate and clay that can not be
mined out cleanly, and hence, to make the coals of these thick seams val-
uable, the additional expense of crushing and washing will have to be
resorted to. The physical features of the Warrior Field will enable good
workable seams of coal to be reached in nearly all parts of the productive
measures at moderate depths below the surface or by drifts and slopes.
The small angle of dip enables the mines either to drain themselves, or
to be kept dry at comparatively small cost. The face and butt structure,
and the joint structure of these coals, enable them to be mined advanta-
geously and in large lumps. The hard, solid roofs save the great expense
of propping, and the soft underbeds permit of the coals being easily
undermined.
The coals of the Warrior Field, as a whole, as well as those of Jeffer-
son County, will, in a few years, be highly blessed with great competition in
transportation lines or with exceedingly cheap transportation. Now, the
L. & N. R. R. crosses this field on the east, the A. G. S. R. R. bounds it on
the south-east, while the Ga. P. R. R. , that will soon be completed, penetrates
it on the east and west, and the S. & B. R. R. and M. & B. R. R., that are
now being built, will bisect it respectively from the north and the west.
Besides the above several other railroad lines have been surveyed to
36 Jefferso7i County.
Birmingham, and doubtless cars will be running over them in a few
years.
Far better than all of these railroads, this field and this county have,
winding through their most productive areas for miles, a river that can be
made navigable for steam tugs and coal barges all the year round, with
a minimum channel, at extreme low water, of eighty feet wide by four
feet deep, for the sum of from $400,000 to ^1,200,000, according to the
nature of the work. Congress has already made a large appropriation
for the opening of this river, and will doubtless continue in this good
work until a water-way is opened to the sea for the cheap coal of the
Warrior Field.
The coals of this county, as they have been and are still the most con-
venient to lines of transportation, have been and are still the most exten-
sively worked of the coals of the Warrior Field. They furnished in 1874
only 33, 139 tons of coal ; now there are in operation in them about thir-
teen mines that have daily outputs of from 100 to 2, 600 tons of coal, and
three or four mines that have daily outputs of from ten to twenty-five
tons, making in all a daily output of about 4,500 tons of coal for the
mines of the Warrior Field in Jefferson County. This coal is used princi-
pally for iron-ore smelting, and for heating and steaming purposes around
Birmingham, and on the railroads which run through Birmingham, though
some of it is shipped to the larger cities of the South for miscellaneous
purposes.
PART III.
Of the Cahaba Coal Field.
Physical Features — Coal Measures : Thickness of its Strata, and Number ajid
Thickness of its Coal Seams ; the Quantity, Quality, and Value of its
Coals, and their Transporting Facilities — Coal Mining in Alabama ;
Location and Output of the Mines — The Coke Industiy in Alabama ; its
Qua?itity, Quality, and Consumption — Other Natural Resources of the
ll^arrior and Cahaba Coal Fields.
Part III is now taken up, out of its regular order, because it also treats
of the coals or is of the same geological formation as Part I.
The Cahaba Coal Field comprises about 435 square miles. Not one-
third of this area, or only 130 square miles of it, however, is in Jefferson
County : but as the greater part of it is or will soon be contributary to the
Its Topography , Geology, and Nahtral Resources. t^"]
prosperity of Jefferson County, a general description will be given here of
the whole field.
The Cahaba Coal Field must necessarily possess many characteristics
in common with the Warrior Field, for, as has been seen, it was originally
connected with the Warrior Field, or was of the same great basin, and all
Coal Measures, especially those of the same field, are known to be every-
where more or less alike. These two coal fields, however, are at present
very different from each other in their topographical features and geologi-
cal structure. This difference is due mainly to the fact that the Cahaba
Field is more intimately connected with the results of the great Appala-
chian revolution, or with the upheavals, fractures, etc., of the mountain-
making epoch of that revolution, and hence it is more broken up, and its
strata are more highly tilted than they are in the case of the Warrior Field.
This Cahaba Coal Field, in fact, is simply the south-west terminus, so far as
can be seen, of the folded and faulted strata that form the Appalachian
chain, and extend from Canada to Central Alabama. This field is of an
oblong shape, extending lengthwise with the anticlinal valleys. Its length
is about seventy-five miles, and its greatest width, near its south-west end,
is about twelve miles. Its limits are well defined ; it is bounded on the
north and west by a ridge of Millstone Grit, and on the south and east by
a great fault that brings up to a level with its highest measures. Lower Silu-
rian rocks. As its south-east rim is not at all elevated, and as the pre-
vailing dip of its strata over the whole field is toward the south-east rim,
it is not a true trough-shape area like the Warrior Field, but is rather
a nionoclinal basin. The actual dip, however, in a few localities of com-
paratively small areas is to the north-west, from the presence of small
folds in the strata that run up and down the field. The prevailing south-
east dip increases constantly from the 6° to 8° of the Millstone Grit of the
north-west boundary to 65° and 80°, and to even a perpendicularity, along
the south-east edge or the great fault, where the Coal Measures are suddenly
cut off and made to butt up against Lower Silurian rocks. As the prevail-
ing dip is constant in its direction to the south-east, and as it is much
greater than the inclination of the surface, the measures must of necessity
be thickest along the south-east edge of the field or along the great fault.
This field is still, for the most part, covered with its virgin forest of
yellow pine, oak, and other valuable timber, and its surface is broken or is
cut up by denudation into a series of valleys and ridges. The ridges, as
a general thing, owe their existence to the out-croppings of hard, weather-
resisting rocks, while the valleys have been cut down into the out-crops
of the softer and more destructible strata. These ridges and valleys.
38 Jefferson County.
therefore, run in the general north-east and south-west direction of the
out-crops of the tilted strata, or up and down the field. As the topo-
graphical features, in a great measure, are dependent on the character of
the underlying strata, they, too, are arranged in strips running in this
same general direction to the length of the field.
This field is admirably drained by the Cahaba River and its tribu-
taries. The river conforms in its general direction to that of the field.
The Cahaba Coal Field is small in comparison with the great Warrior Field,
but it contains a vast amount of workable coal. Its measures are believed
to be about as thick and to have as many coal seams, with as great a com-
bined thickness of coal, as those of the Warrior Field. The coal seams of
these two fields have never, as yet, been connected, but they will doubtless
be in the course of time. The coal seams of the Cahaba Field, from their
steeper dip, crop out in much more limited areas, and they have much less
coal above drainage level than those of the Warrior Field. For many
years there has been known to be in this field, at the least, twenty differ-
ent seams of coal, with a combined thickness of between forty and fifty feet
of coal. There is, however, as already stated, believed to be in this field
more than twice this number of seams, and that they have a combined
thickness of coal of over twice fifty feet. Twelve of the known twenty coal
seams in this field are of workable thickness, or contain, each, an average
thickness of two feet and over of clean coal, while others of them contain,
each, eighteen inches and over in thickness of clean coal. The workable
coal seams of this field, as reported, are of two groups that are separated
by a great thickness of comparatively barren strata. The lower group
has from seven to eight seams of coal from three to seven feet in thick-
ness, and with a combined thickness of about thirty-five feet of workable
coal. The upper group is known as the Montevallo Group. It occurs
along the south-east edge of the field, and is said to cover a comparatively
small area. It contains from three to four seams of coal of workable
thickness that have an aggregate thickness of about twelve feet of coal.
It has been estimated, after a most liberal discount for every imagin-
able cause, that there are, at the least, 4,000,000,000 tons of coal in this
field in the seams that are two feet six inches, and over, in thickness.
These coals are usually of a bright and shiny luster, and are of a very
fine quality. They seem to be especially drj', and to contain a small
amount of ash, and a large percentage of fixed carbon. Some of them,
from long use, are known to be good heating and steaming coals, while
others make excellent coke, that is well suited for iron-ore smelting.
Others of them are dry burning coals that do not coke, while others still
Its TopograpJiy, Geology, and Natural Resources. 39
are fat bituminous coals, and are good fuel and gas coals. They, as a class,
appear to be cleaner and harder coals than those of the Warrior Field,
but more faulty. Some of them seem to stand weathering finely, as they
have remained lumpy, and burned freely after years of exposure to the
sun and rain.
The following three analyses will serve to show the quality of these
coals :
Helena.
Cahaba.
Montevallo.
1.12
2.54
2<).44
(itl.81
1.21
1.22
1.66
:».28
03.04
2.02
1.35
2.13
27.03
66.22
Ash
4.62
The heating and steaming values of these coals may be seen on an
examination of the table already given of the tests made by Prof. O. H.
Landreth, at Vanderbilt University.
The coals of this field are especially valuable from the fact that they
are the most southern true coals in the United States, and, in common
with the coals of the other fields in Alabama, are surrounded by iron ores
and limestones in seemingly almost exhaustless quantities and of the
best qualities.
The Cahaba coals have one great drawback to cheap mining : namely,
their steep dip. This dip is so great that the coals will have to be mined
principally by shafts, and it will be expensive to keep the mines dry.
The transportation facilities for the coals of this field are at present
very good, but they will doubtless be rapidly increased. Besides being
bound on the north and west by the A. G. S. R. R., this field is bisected
from north to south by the L. & N. R. R. , crossed on the east by the
Ga. P. R. R., touched on the south-east by the S. R. & D. R. R.,and
will soon be cut in twain, lengthwise, by the M. & G. T. R. R.
It has also, through its most productive area, a river that can be made
navigable the year round for steam tugs and coal barges ; and, on the south
and east, it has no elevated rim, and can be easily and cheaply penetrated
by any number of railroads from those sides.
For many years, in ante-railroad times in Alabama, and from many
places, the coals of the Warrior and Cahaba Coal Fields were raised in
considerable quantities from the beds of the rivers, and the mouths of the
40 Jefferson County,
creeks along the rivers during low stages of the water, and floated down
the rivers in flatboats during freshets. This business, however, was so
perilous to both life and property that no considerable capital was ever
invested in it, and no regular miners ever engaged in it. It was aban-
doned on the advent of the central railroads through Alabama, and it was
not until the year 1872, on the completion of the S. & N. Ala. R. R.,
that any coal seams were scientifically opened and worked in Jefferson
County. Since 1872, coal mining in Alabama has grown most rapidly, or
from an annual output of about 11,000 tons to about 2,225,000 tons
in 1885, and from an investment of a few thousand dollars to that of
about $3,000,000. The present mines are all near the present lines
of transportation, and are on the out-crops of coal that are near the edges
of the most productive areas. They include among them some of the
richest, if not the richest, bituminous coal plants on the face of tl;ie globe.
About six-sevenths of the coal that is now mined in Alabama is from the
Warrior Field, and about seven-eighths of the rest is from the Cahaba Field.
Of the output for the whole State, at least five-sixths of it is from Jef-
ferson County, and four-fifths of it is consumed by the furnaces and rail-
roads of the State.
The miners of this coal are of many nationalities ; among them may be
found Americans (principally natives), Germans, Irish, Welsh, English,
Swedes, French, Scotch, Austrians, Swiss, Bavarians, and Africans (prin-
cipally natives.) The outside help at the mines are chiefly Americans or
native whites, while the miners, strictly speaking, are, for the most part,
foreigners and native blacks. The native blacks make very good miners.
The coals of these fields are of special value on account of their
being almost surrounded by iron ores and limestones of the very best
quality. They are particularly enhanced in value by the vast deposits of
red and brown iron ores and limestones of the narrow Anticlinal Valley, or
Part II, that separates these fields and which has along it, especially in
Jefferson County, such a development and juxtaposition of the raw mate-
rials for the smelting of iron ores, on a large scale, as is nowhere else to
be seen.
In keeping with the rapid growth of the coal production is the coke
industry of this State. This industry, though less than eight years old,
is now the next to the largest of the kind in the world. It increased
from an output of 60,781 in 1880 to 304,509 tons in 1885. This coke is
made chiefly from the coals of the Warrior Field, mainly the Pratt Seam,
and is about all consumed in the State. It is, as a general thing, of
Its Topography , Geology, a?:d Natural Resources. 41
excellent quality for both iron-ore smelting and foundry uses. Its quality
is indicated by the following analyses :
(1) (2)
Fixed carbon 93.86 93.01
Ash 2.98 6.83
Sulphur 61 .57
Moisture 2.55
No. 1 — Coke of the Warrior Seam.
No. 2— Coke of the Pratt Seam.
The Warrior and Cahaba Coal Fields have other great natural
resources than those of their coals. They have several seams of black
band iron ore, considerable clay iron stotie, a vast amount of ^ood fire clay,
inexhaustible quarries of the best of building and paving stojics, numerous
localities of suitable materials for grindstones and millstones, many deposits
of varying extent of alian, saltpeter, copperas, etc. , and a great variety and
quantity of fine timber.
l^hc black band iron ore or coaly carbonate of iron is in seams from a
few inches to several feet in thickness. The ore from two of the seams
has been tested in the furnace with favorable results when mixed with
more siliceous ores.
The clay iro7i stone occurs both as interstratified bands and as layers
of nodules, balls and kidney shape concretions dispersed through the thick
beds of shale.
The fire clays are the underbeds to most of the coal seams. They
are from a few inches to ten and twelve feet in thickness. They are
nearly always carbonaceous and of a dark gray color. When thoroughly
wet they are usually plastic and sticky. They have never been suffi-
ciently tested, if at all, and are believed to be in many cases of the best
material. They are frequently full of the fossil plant, Stigmaria.
The building stones are of a good variety and durability. Some of
them work with equal ease in any direction, while others split into thin,
tough sheets.
The flaggino and paving stones are of all degrees of thickness and
are of great uniformity. They have perfectly smooth and beautifully
rippled marked sides, and need only to be squared to be ready for their
many uses. These flagging and paving stones, from their great regu-
larity in thickness, etc., in certain localities, have been caWed plank rocks,
and the thinner of them, as seen in the faces of quarries and bluffs, fre-
quently look like planks piled up one on another. Grindstones could be
easily and cheaply made from the above flagging and paving stones.
Jefferson Coimty.
which frequently are of very good grit for ordinary edge tools, oftentimes
better than that of the grindstones which are imported to this country
from a great distance.
Millstones. — The Millstone Grit oi these coal fields, as it name implies,
is well suited for millstones, and is used for this purpose, more or less,
wherever it abounds. There are other conglomerates and sandstones of
these coal fields that could be worked up into good millstones.
Alum, saltpeter, copperas, etc., are found as efflorescences, incrustations,
and earthy deposits in the rock houses and other sheltered places of these
coal fields. They owe their origin principally to the weathering or disin-
tegration of pyrites.
The timber is mainly of long and short leaf pines, oaks, gums, hick-
ories, beech, poplar, cypress, etc. The long-leaf pine, over certain sec-
tions of these coal fields, will yield from 15,000 to 20,000 feet of good,
merchantable lumber to the acre. The other growth, especially in the
hollows and ravines and along the water courses, is of fine size.
The Warrior and Cahaba Coal Fields also have along their streams
some of the grandest and most picturesque of scenery, and innumerable
sites of narrow channels, with rocky bottoms and sides, for the erection
of machinery of any magnitude up to that of loo-horse power and more.
PART II.
Of the Anticlinal Valley.
General Description — General Section — Structure and Complications — Silurian
Rocks and Iron Ores — The Clintoti Group and its Exhaustless Red Iron
Ore — The Knox Dolomite and its Vast Deposits of Brown hvn Ore.
This valley or middle division completely separates the other two,
and is a striking feature in the topography of this State and County. Its
narrowness from coal field to coal field, its abundance of red and brown
iron ores, its inexhaustible quantity of the best of limestones for fluxing
purposes, for lime, etc., its numerous beautiful and bold, big springs and
limpid streams of perpetual flow, and its great natural advantages as the
most important highway or line of communication between the busy
marts of the north-east and the south-west, all tend to make it of the great-
est interest to the geologist and the engineer, and to the manufacturer
Its Topography, Geology, ajid Natural Resources. 43
and agriculturist, and will make it the richest and densest populated sec-
tion of Alabama.
This valley is one of the outliers of the great Coosa Valley, or is one of
the valleys of the Appalachian chain, near its south-western terminus. It
therefore partakes of the characters of those Anticlinal Valleys, or is made
up of folded and faulted strata, and, like those valleys, its greatest peculiar-
ity is that it was once a mountain. It is due entirely to erosion, though its
present features have been highly influenced by the geological strata. Like
its parent stem, the Coosa Valley, it may be described as a complex valley,
fluted with smaller valleys and ridges. These smaller valleys and ridges,
as well as the soils and growth, have a strict relationship with the geo-
logical structure of the main valley. This is especially noticeable in the
case of the soils, and is exemplified in the barren ridges of hornstone or
chert running along parallel to and with the fertile limestone valleys at
their base.
The edges of this valley are well defined by ridges of Millstone Grit
or the heavy beds of conglomerates and sandstones near the base of the
Coal Measures. It is something over 100 miles long, and as a whole is
known as Lottg Valley. Different portions of it, however, have received
different names ; the upper or northeastern portion is called Murphree's
Valley; the middle, Jones Valley, and the lower or south-west end,
Roupe Valley. The floor of this valley for nearly its whole length is
higher than the mountainous country on each side of its raised edges, and
it presents the anomaly of a valley that is a water divide in a mountainous
country.
The relative altitude of this valley is shown from the fact that, though
it is bounded on the right and left by tall ridges of Millstone Grit, not one
of its streams flows along it for any considerable distance before forcing
its way through the rocky barriers into the Coal Measures or mountainous
country on one side or the other. It divides the waters of the Warrior
and Cahaba Rivers, and hence separates the Warrior and Cahaba Coal
Fields.
This valley rarely exceeds three to four miles in width, though at the
juncture of the Murphree and Jones Valleys it is about twelve miles
wide. Nearly one-half of its length and about 200 square miles of its area
are embraced in this county. This county includes the middle portion of
it or the whole of Jones Valley and a part of Roupe Valley. The portion
in this county is a single anticlinal that is much folded and faulted along
44 Jefferson Coimfy.
its north-west side. The following is a general section of the geological
formations of this valley:
Coal Measures ; rims of Millstone Grit of
CARBONiFEROrs \ the Warrior and Cahaba Coal Fields
. on each side of the valley.
!i
CI ,^ / Ui/per, Calcareous ; Mountain Limestone. } -Ann
Sub-Carboniferous.. [ ^^^^^; g-^-^^^^^^ . 'g^_ ^^„ .^ „„^ ^..^^^,^^. \ m ft.
Devonian.
f Black Shale ; unknown thickness, out-
t crop usually covered up, not ovr. . 50 ft.
Upper Silurian .... -I Clinton or Red Mountan (xrw,, 400 ft.
1 Trenton and Chazij 400 ft.
Lower Siluria x \ n ,^>^^ 1 Knox l)olor:> i:: 1 ,200 ft.
j ^"-("(^^ \ Knox Shah
In the simplest possible form of this valley, or when it is a simple regular
Anticlinal Valley, the Knox Dolomite and Shale, or oldest rocks, occupy the
center of the valley, and the others occur in regular succession, as given
above, to the north-west and south-east of them. The south-east side or
half of the valley is usually, if not always, of this simple form, and shows
the above formations in almost unbroken continuity from one end of the
valley to the other, but the opposite side or the north-west half of the
valley is not so simple in its geological structure, and but seldom, if ever,
exhibits the above simple form. On the south-east side or half of the
valley the strata have a regular dip to the south-east ; but on the north-
west side or half it is the exception to find them dipping to the north-
west, as they should be if this valley was of a simple regular anticlinal
fold. On this north-west side or half the most common state of things is
to find an inversion of the strata, or to find them so lapped together and
so bent over to the north-west that their proper dip to the north-west is
reversed to one to the south-east, and the newer rocks are thrown to the
bottom or under the older ones. This north-west side or half is also most
frequently complicated by faults, which run rather up and down the
valley. These faults in some instances have doubled some of the strata,
and in others have left out or engulfed some of them. This doubling of
the strata, so far as has been observed, is confined principally to the Clin-
ton, Black Shale and Sub-carboniferous formations, though occasionally it
has included the Trenton and upper Chazy rocks. The above faults along
the north-west edge of the valley have frequently pushed up and over the
Lower Silurian rocks or the Knox Dolomite until they are in contact with
the Coal Measures ; for this to be the case there has been a vertical dis-
placement of the strata of not less than 1,500 feet, and in some cases a
great deal more. Of the formations of this valley, the Upper and Lower
Its Topography, Geology, and Natural Resources. 45
Silurian are of special interest and importance on account of their econom-
ical or mineral worth. These Silurian rocks are the repository of the great-
est accumulations of iron ores in Alabama or perhaps in the world. They
occur in the anticlinal valleys of the Appalachian chain from Canada to
Central Alabama, but nowhere along this whole line do they possess
such a development of hematite and Hmonite, or of red and brown iron
ores, as near their south-west terminus in Alabama, and especially in Jef-
ferson County. These vast deposits of red and brown iron ores are
respectively of the Clinton Group of the Upper Silurian formation and the
Sub-group Knox Dolomite of the Lower Silurian formation.
I. Clinton Group. — These rocks consist principally of yellowish, brown-
ish, and white standstones and shales with inter-stratifted seams of hema-
tite or red-iron ore. They are of a most persistent character, and are
closely associated with the Sub-carboniferous rocks. They, with the
cherty beds of the lower Sub-carboniferous rocks, form well-defined ridges
which run up and down the Anticlinal Valley, on each side, parallel to but
somewhat lower than the bordering ridges of the Millstone Grit of the Coal
Measures. These ridges of Clinton rocks are not always continuous or
prominent, but they sometimes sink to the general level of the country to
again rise to what is known in Alabama as mountains; in other words,
they are rather a range of long, high hills in a line on each side of the
valley, parallel to the ridges of Millstone Grit or edges of the valley. Those
in this county, near Birmingham, received years ago the local name of
Red Mountain, from their seams of ever-present red ore. This name, Red
Mountain, has now become so extensive that it is applied not only to all
the mountains and ridges in Alabama that contain this red ore, but also
to the geological group of rocks of which it is a part. The Red Mou?itai?i
group of Alabama is therefore synonymous with the Clinton group of
New York and the Dyestone group of Tennessee. The iron ore of these
rocks is known as hematite, red-iron ore, red hematite, specidar ore, fossilifer-
ousnron ore, lentieular ore, Clinton ore, Dyestone ore, and red oclve. When
pure it has nearly 70 per cent, of metallic iron. It is of very great inter-
est and value to Alabama, and especially to Jefferson County, on account
of its quantity, quality, and position. It is highly esteemed as an iron ore
by the iron manufacturers, and is now being extensively used. It is the
main dependence of the blast furnaces of Alabama. It is by far the
greatest iron ore deposit in the State, and is seemingly almost inexhaust-
ible. It occurs in seams or is regularly stratified. These seams, from
their very nature and position, would appear to extend down and spread
•out indefinitely. In this county there are three of these seams of ore
46 Jefferson Coimiy.
within 150 feet of strata, though the seams are usually only from fifteen
feet to twenty-five feet apart. Their outcrops are parallel, and are indica-
ted by a red soil and by ferruginous fragments scattered over the surface.
These seams of ore should occur on both sides of the Anticlinal Valley
when not engulfed in faults, and they are frequently duplicated on the
north-west side by faults, so that, if the outcrops in this county were
stretched out in a single straight line, they would doubtless reach near
200 miles. The combined thickness of the three seams in this county, it
is believed, would average twenty-five feet. The quality of the ore is
different in the different seams, and frequently from outcrop to outcrop in
the same seam. This quality, however, as a general thing is good, and,
in places, it is superior in richness to the brozvn ore. It is usually richest
on the surface ; seemingly having been leached, as it generally becomes
more and more calcareous downward. Doubtless the composition of each
scam is constant beyond its line of weathering. It is oolitic in structure ;
consisting of glazed grains of various sizes, flattened and cemented together
as if by pressure. It is frequently porous on the outcrop. Its impurities
consist principally of siliceous matter, usually in rounded grains, and of
carbonate of lime, and occasionally of a little argillaceous matter. The
carbonate of lime, when present in considerable quantities, causes the ore
to effervesce freely on the addition of acids. When this carbonate of
lime is constant, and not in too large quantities, its presence in the ore is
no serious objection, but is rather an advantage, since it may be made to
take the part of a flux. The argillaceous matter is never in large enough
quantities to require the washing of the ore. This ore is of a brownish
and bright red color ; on a fresh surface it is shiny, but has no metallic
luster. It is friable and readily soils the hands. If the outcrops of this
ore in Jefferson County formed a seam only forty miles long, that had an
available thickness of ore of only ten feet, and if this ore contained an
average of only 40 per cent, of metallic iron and had a specific gravity of
only 3, all the way down, it would still give to Jefferson County for every
foot of descent into it nearly 56,000 tons of metallic iron. The data of
the above supposition are known to be far within the real state of things ;
for in this county the outcrops of each of the three seams on the south-
east side of the valley alone must be near 75 miles in length, and one of
them, in places at least, is over fifteen feet in thickness ; the ore, too, fre-
quently has as much as 50 per cent, of metallic iron and a specific gravity
of 4. The iron made from this ore is of a hard, brittle character, that is
well suited for castings ; its quality is improved by mixing with this red
ore a little broivii ore.
Its Topography, Geology^ a?id Natural Resources. 47
The following analyses will serve to show the quality of the red ores
that are now supplying the furnaces of this county :
(1) 12)
Ferric oxicie 73.930 90.271
Silica 19.680 O.3S0
Alumina 2.710 2.460
Lime 523 .220
Magnt-sia 192 .230
Phosphoric anliydriile 371 .090
Sulphuric anhydride 028 trace.
Manganese oxide 390
Zinc oxide .070
Baryta .080
Water and loss 1.438 .199
100.000 100.000
Metallic iron 51.500 63.190
Phosphorus 162 .040
Sulphur Oil trace
Manganese 025
jVo. 1. — Alice Furnace Company Red Mountain Ore.
Anali/st : Alfred F. Brainerd, Birmingham, Ala.
jVb. 2. — Sloss Furnace Company Red Mountain Ore.
Analyst : Alfred F. Brainerd, Birmingham, Ala.
This group of rocks, besides its vast deposit of red iron ore, is rich,
in flagging or paving stones. These flagging stones are of the very best
quality ; they are hard, and of uniform thickness, with perfectly smooth
and beautifully-rippled marked sides. They do not absorb water, and do
not peel off on weathering. They are now being extensively used in Bir-
mingham as curbing and paving stones. Many of these flagging stones
would make excellent grindstones for common edge tools.
2. Knox Dolomite. — The rocks of this sub-group generally form the
central and larger portion of the valley. In the upper part they are
rough, cherty dolomites, and in the lower part they are pure limestones
and dolomites. The upper of these rocks on weathering sometimes leave
the very finest specimens of concretionary chert, and the lower ones will
furnish fine building stones for handsome structures, good lime, and some-
times an inferior quality of hydraulic cement.
On each side of this central area are usually found belts of limestone,
more or less pure, of the Chazy and Trenton ages; the latter often quite
pure and excellent for the manufacture of lime. In many places, as, for
instance, from Birmingham south-westward to Jonesboro and below, the
central parts of the valley are formed by the thin-bedded limestones of
Jefferso7i County.
the underlying Knox Shale Sub-group. These rocks usually crop out in
parallel and rough ledges — running sometimes for great distances — and
are usually very highly inclined, and in some cases nearly vertical. These
limestone ledges are commonly interbedded with clayey strata, and the
soils resulting from their disintegration are calcareous and clayey, and,
inasmuch as the areas of the Knox Shale are usually quite level, they are
known as "Flatwoods."
The flatwoods are generally badly drained, and the soils are cold and
unproductive, although not deficient in the elements of plant food.
With the increase and decrease of the Knox Dolomite Sub-
group as surface rocks, the limonite ore deposits of the valley
also increase and decrease, showing most conclusively that there
must be an intimate connection between the two. The superficial
extent of these rocks, and the number and importance of the limonite
ore beds, are not, however, always in the same proportion ; for the
disturbances of these underlying rocks also seem to have had some-
thing to do with the deposition of the overlying limonite ore beds, as,
wherever these disturbances and hence decomposition have been greatest,
there, too, the limonite ore beds are most numerous and extensive. The
theory, therefore, that the great limonite ore banks of the Anticlinal Valleys
are the results of the decomposition of the ferruginous limestones and
dolomites of this sub-group, seems to hold good, as has been observed,
so far as Jefferson County or Alabama are concerned. The supposition is
that, while the calcareous matter of these ferruginous limestones and
dolomites was being gradually removed by denudation, their iron was col-
lecting together in concretionary masses and was left deposited in beds
of varying extent on or near the sites once occupied by the original rocks.
This ore generally overlies beds of impure, shaly limestone, though it is
not beheved to be confined to superficial deposits. Its beds, like the Knox
Dolomite, occupy a zone from two to three miles wide, running up and
■down the center of the valley, or with the outcrop of the rocks, and,
with occasional interruptions, may be traced the whole length of the
valley. They occur principally in leached knolls, hills, and ridges, of
orange and reddish-colored loams, from 50 feet to 200 feet high. These
ridges and knolls, in the richer localities, for five and six miles up and
down the valley and over areas of 500 and 600 acres, seem sometimes to
be made up almost entirely of this ore, though in the poorer localities, of
nearly or equal extent, the ore seems to be almost wanting. The ore
exists in the banks in irregular masses as hard, solid, compact ore ; as cell-
ular and honey-comb ore, and as ochreous and earthy varieties ; and
Its Topography, Geology, and Natural Resources. 49
from small shot ore to boulders fifteen feet and twenty feet in diameter,
weighing 3,000 tons and more. It has commonly a dull, metallic luster.
The surface indications, and the diggitigs into it, go to prove that the sup-
ply is very great. It would, however, be a very difficult matter to esti-
mate this supply with any degree of certainty. Though its principal
occurrence is in knolls, hills, and ridges, it is sometimes found on the low,
flat grounds. It has frequently associated with it ferruginous sandstones
of fantastic shapes. It is a good ore on account of its purity and rich-
ness, containing from 50 to 60 per cent, of metallic iron. It is now being
used to a considerable extent in the furnaces of this county as a mixture
with the fossiliferous ore of Red Mountain. The Alabama Great South-
ern Railroad runs through or near the great deposits of it in this county.
The following analyses of samples from the lower or south-west end
of the valley will serve to represent the quality of this brown ore:
(1) (2) (3) (4)
Combined water 11.35 12.14 13.09
Siliceous matter 9.80 2.46 12.16 3.10
Sesquisoxide of iron 72.40 84.46 75.04 84.25
Alumina 3.75 .91 .30
Oxide of manganese .33 0.00
Lime .26 .41
Magnesia .04 .06
Phosphoric acid 0.31 .58 0.00 trace
Sulphur 0.00 .14 .14
Metallic iron 50.68 59.15 52.55 59.00
Phosphorus 0.12 0.25 0.00 trace
The growth of the iron business in Alabama, and especially in Jeffer-
son County, within the last few years, has been something remarkable.
This county not only supplies its nine blast furnaces with ore, but also
ships a great deal of it. The output of pig iron in Alabama for 1876 has
been estimated at 24,732 tons, and for 1885 at 227,438 tons. About
four-fifths of this iron was made from the ores and by the furnaces of Jef-
ferson County. The present output in this county, it is expected, will
be almost doubled within the next twelve months.
The iron or middle division of Jefferson County is not only one
hot bed of iron ores and limestones, but is, as has been seen, rich in the
purest and best of materials for the making of lime, and for handsome,
durable, and beautiful building stones. It is also blessed with a naturally
fertile soil, and with an abundance of pure, free-flowing water for both
man and beast.
Nature has, therefore, favored Jefferson County with the best of her
earthly goods, and with everything that is necessary for a future great-
ness.
4
, J < <J L-J s.--*.M*m'--'-5V"JVTC
«i^^k,i.Jl.Jl.^l..,U^L->..^.
^^•i\y Htjl^Vy.
JEFFERSON COUNTY AS IT WAS IN BY-GONE DAYS.
B. E. GRACE.
CHAPTER II.
The territory which constitutes the county of Jefferson is a part of
what was formerly known as the county of Blount. Under the territorial
government known as the Mississippi Territory the counties were large
and but sparsely populated. After the admission of Alabama as a State
into the Union, and the adoption of the constitution, at the first session
of the legislature, in 1820, great changes were made in the county
boundaries, and many new counties established, among which was the
present county of Jefferson^ which embraces the territory commencing
at Village Springs, in the north-eastern portion, and extends down in a
south-western direction to Roupe Valley, which has long been famous
for its immense deposits of iron ore, and where the first iron was made in
the State of Alabama. The county is about forty-five miles long, from
north-east to south-west, and about thirty miles across the other way
from a point between the Mulberry and Locust forks of the Warrior
River to the Shades Mountain, and at the south-east extremity to Cahaba
Valley. Jones Valley extends pretty near through the whole length of
54 Jeffersoii Co7tJiiy.
the county, being divided by a low ridge for two-thirds the distance, the
most valuable portion running parallel and by the side of the great
deposit of red hematite ore and known as Red Mountain.
The city of Birmingham is situated in that part of the valley about
midway between the north-east and south-west extremities, and within
about eight miles of the southern boundary and three miles from Red
Mountain. The great Warrior Coal Basin extends for about twenty miles
at the widest part, from south-east to north-west, and the whole length of
the county the other way.
The early settlers say that the Indians did not occupy this portion of
their territory as their homes, but seem to have set it apart as a hunting
ground, and as a great, magnificent park, in which they, the Creeks
and neighboring nations, the Cherokees and Choctaws, held their annual
meetings to celebrate notable events in their history, and to perform their
national games, like the ancient Greeks. They had a town on the
Warrior River, known as Old Town, at which, according to Miss Duffie,
a detachment from General Jackson's army had a battle with them and
captured one of their principal chiefs. Long after the settlement of
Jones Valley a trace leading from Old Town to Mudd Town, on the
Cahaba River, now owned by Rev. John Caldwell, and crossing the
Shades Mountain, about a mile east of Oxmoor, was plainly visible.
After the year 1815, which was about the time of the first settlement
of white persons in Jones Valley, there were very few Indians seen here,
and no hostile demonstrations ; nevertheless, through abundant caution,
the first settlers erected a rude, fort near the present site of Old Jonesboro,
but it was seldom occupied. The first settlers, John Jones, Andrew
McLaughlin, Samuel and Isaac Fields, and a few others, made the first
settlement at the point above named, and the valley took its name from
one of them, who, it seems, was a reckless, daring man, but who has left
nothing but his name to throw any light upon his previous history. The
others have left numerous descendants, who are among the noted families
of our old citizens. At that settlement Moses Fields, lately deceased,
was born, being the first white child born in the county. The first
merchants there at that time were Ben. McWhorter, Mark M. Harris,
Edward Sims, John B. Ayers, and John W. Bramlett. Near the same
time a colony from Rutherford County, Tenn., settled at the place now
known as Woodlawn, a suburb of the new city. This party was com-
posed of Williamson Hawkins, Thomas Barton, WilHam Cowden, James
Cunningham, probably Jonathan York and others, and soon afterward a
large party from South Carolina, consisting of John Brown, Isaac Brown,
Early History. 55
John Brown (red), John Brown (black), John Wood, James H. Wood,
William Culbertson, William C. Tarrant, Henry Tarrant, James Tarrant,
William Reid, and several of the Montgomerys, and others not now recol-
lected. The persons above mentioned, and their descendants, constituted
a large part of our population, and have filled important offices in our
county and State. After several years' residence there, Williamson
Hawkins moved to the farm four miles west of Birmingham, where Mr.
Thomas is now erecting his furnaces. It is a beautiful plateau of 2,000
acres on Village Creek. At the start he cleared and cultivated much of
the land with his own hands, but he afterward became wealthy, and in
i860 was the owner of 150 negroes and made 100 bales of cotton per
year, and large quantities of grain. Mr. Hawkins died soon after the
surrender, and has left a numerous offspring, among whom were the late
lamented Dr. Hawkins and his son James, the present able solicitor of
our county.
In coming from Nashville or Huntsville, and going toward Tusca-
loosa, a person would enter the county at Village Springs, in which
neighborhood, as far back as 1821, he would meet with many persons
whose names have since been well known throughout the county. I think
they were mostly Tennesseeans, among whom were Joseph D. Harrison,
John Hanby, Sr. , Christopher Deavers, John Cantley, Jeremiah Randolph,
and others. A little lower down Turkey Creek they would find Jonathan
Liverman and George Powell, and proceeding down the Tuscaloosa road
you would soon come upon another neighborhood of South Carolinians,
consisting of Dr. Hagood, Robert H. Green, Horton B. Chamblee,
James H. Hewitt, George L. Green, George Starns, John Burford, and
others, some of whom, and their descendants, have filled the most
important offices, from representative in Congress down to justice of the
peace.
The first regular term of the circuit court, I think, was held in a
place called Carrollsville, now owned by Mrs. Nabers.
The seat of justice was moved to Elyton in 1821.
The principal citizens there at that time were David Prude, John
Martin, James Hall, Stephen Hall, John M. Dupuy, J. W. McWilliams,
Stephen Reeder, Daniel Watkins, and others. The population increased
rapidly, James Mudd, Sr. , Jonathan Steel, E. W. Peck, Thomas W.
Farrar, William B. Duncan, Samuel S. Earle, and Baylis W. Earle being
among the early settlers.
The first merchants in Elyton were Slaughter & Labuzan, Jonathan
Steel, Charles McLaran, W. A. Walker, Sr., and Thomas W. Rockett.
56 Jefferso7i County.
The bar of Elyton soon after that time consisted of some of the
ablest lawyers of the State. Among them were William Cochran,
George N. Stewart, George W. Crabb, Harvey W. Ellis, John F. Forest,
Walker K. Baylor, R. E. B. Baylor, Pleasure H. May, Daniel E.
Watrous, Samuel W. Mardis, John W. Henley, Thomas W. Farrar, etc.
Our physicians were Samuel S. Earle, Peyton King, and William B.
Duncan. For several years they did most of the practice of the county.
There was nothing like a drug store known in the county at that
time. The physicians had neat saddle-bags, with numerous departments
and pockets for the different kinds of medicines and surgical instruments.
Our judiciary system at that time was a supreme court, which was
composed of the different judges of the circuit court, who also exercised
chancery jurisdiction. A county court, presided over by a judge who,
as well as the other judges, was elected by the legislature, and a clerk
of the county court, as well as of the circuit court, a sheriff and a
coroner, all, except the judges, elected by the people. The judges of
the county court, as far as recollected, were P. Walker, John Brown
(red), and W. K. Baylor.
The clerks of the county court, before the change to a probate
court, were James Thompson, H. W. Goyne, Baylis E. Grace, and Joab
Bagley.
The clerks of the circuit court were James Dodds, M. H. Gillespie,
and Hugh Morrow, Jr.
The sheriffs of the olden time, before the war, were Levi Reed,
Stephen Reader, John McWhorter, John B. Ayers, William A. Scott,
Peter Anderson, B. E. Grace, W. C. Eubank, and A. Killough.
The names of the general administrators and guardians were
Samuel S. Earle, B. E. Grace, and A. J. Waldrop.
Our mail facilities in the early history of the county were very poor.
The mail from Huntsville to Tuscaloosa was carried on horseback once a
week. This state of affairs continued for several years. It was succeeded
first by a two-horse hack, and afterward by fine four-horse coaches from
Huntsville to Tuscaloosa. For this last improvement the county was
indebted to the energy and good management of Robert Jemison, of
Tuscaloosa. Before the invention of the telegraph, under the adminis-
tration of President Jackson, his enterprising Postmaster-General, Amos
Kendall, conceived the idea of an express mail, by which news could be
sent through the principal mail routes much more expeditiously than by
the old plan. He accordingly established lines of that kind between the
principal cities of the country. We had one between Nashville and
Early History. 57
Montgomery. He had relays of horses of the best blood every ten miles
and boys who were fearless riders. The speed adopted was ten miles per
hour. The writer of this lived on the line of that route, and frequently
heard them pass at the dead hour of night. The boy who rode that ten
miles was one of Birmingham's first settlers, and is now a prosperous
and wealthy citizen. I allude to J. B. Webb. But the express mail
was unpopular with the mercantile community of the country, as it gave
great advantages for favoritism, and was soon abandoned. The mail
stage system was carried to great perfection in consequence of the rivalry
between two large contractors, Robert Jamison and James R. Powell,
and was continued till superseded by the railroad system.
About the year 1836 great excitement was caused in Jefferson County
in consequence of the hostile attitude of the Seminole and Creek Indians,
especially the latter. The treaty which had recently been concluded
between the General Government and Indians for their removal to the
West caused great dissatisfaction among a large portion of them, and
several murders were committed between Montgomery and Columbus,
Georgia, and other outrages, which finally resulted in a state of war. The
Governor made a call for volunteers, and Jefferson County, as usual in
such cases, responded promptly, and a company of near 100 men was
soon raised,! and James McAdory was elected captain, I forget the
names of the other officers, or I would gladly give them, as they were
a gallant set of boys, and spent a hot summer in the sickly climate,
at that time, of South Alabama, serving faithfully till the object of the
campaign was accomplished, and the hostile Creeks were captured and
sent ina Montgomery and Mobile by water to their new homes. The
captain and most of his men returned, but several contracted disease
which finally proved fatal.
About the same time a regiment commanded by Colonel Dent, of
Tuscaloosa, was sent to Florida against the Seminoles. There were some
of the Jefferson boys in that expedition, but their names are not recol-
lected. In that campaign the gallant Mims Jemison was killed.
A fine regiment from Tennessee, under the command of General
Armstrong, passed through our county near that time on their way to
Florida. Some of the best blood of the Volunteer State was spilled on the
' ' Tampas' desert strand. " In that campaign I recollect that Colonel Guild
and one of General Carroll's sons were among them, and I think the
immortal Cheatham was also with them, but am not certain. They spent
several days resting and recruiting for the long march at the fine country
residence of Colonel Dupuy, one and a half miles south of Birmingham.
5 8 Jefferson County.
At that time the land on which Birmingham is located, and all between
that and his residence, belonged to the Colonel, and with genuine Vir-
ginian hospitality he threw open his parlors and well-filled cribs to the
volunteers and their horses, and they had a good time for about a week,
but unfortunately while there the measles broke out in the camp and was
left in the family, by which misfortune the Colonel lost twenty likely
young negroes, worth about ;g 10,000. I have always thought that he
should have been reimbursed from the United States Treasury, but as
that kind of property was not very popular with the majority in Congress
all applications for compensation by our representatives in Congress have
been refused.
The remainder of the Creek tribe which had not been sent by water
soon after passed through El^^torr, and rested a short time there on
their march to their new homes. I recollect noticing the chiefs as they
sat on the piazza of the Taylor Hotel, and I think a finer looking set of
men, consisting of some twenty or more, were seldom seen together. If
there is any truth in phrenology, I don't think they would have suffered by
comparison with the Congress of the United States, which, at that time,
contained such men as Clay, Webster, Crittenden, Menifee, Underwood,
Graves, Bell, Grundy, etc.
\ That part of Jefferson County where the first settlement was made,
and which seems likely to be diverted into a great manufacturing city by
the energy and capital of Mr. DeBardeleben and his associates, was in the
early days considered the garden spot of Jefferson County. When I
first knew it such was its fame abroad that it had already brought
together a large population. In the election for sheriff in 1823 or 1824
John McWhorter, the successful candidate, received 201 votes, equal to
the vote of the most popular candidate of the present day. The lands
for a few miles east and north of Jonesboro brought as high, at public
sale, as $100 per acre. This fine country was owned, when I first knew it,
by such men as John Smith, Darby Henley, John W. Terrell, William
Nabers, Sr., John Cochran, Wm. H. Cochran, Isham Harrison, Gen. John
Wood, Mortimer Jordan, Octavius Spencer, Stephen Hodges, Wm. K.
Paulling, John Paulling, Joseph Riley, John Brandon, George Ware, and
others; and further south, in the neighborhood of 'Squire Owen, we had
Thomas H. Owen, Ben Worthington, Ninean Tannehill, James McAdory
and his several sons, Robert McAdory, John Moore, William B. Moore,
and I. W. Sadler, who still lives, an honor to his country and his race.
Down on Big creek, in the north-west part of the county, the country
belonged almost to three or four families, viz: the Waldrops, Parsons,
Early History. 59
Vines, and Smiths, three of which famihes could raise a captain's com
pany, and did come very near doing so in the late unpleasantness.
At the time of which I write the county was subject to great incon-
venience in getting supplies such as they could not raise themselves.
The land was productive, and required but little labor to produce the
necessaries of life. The woods on both sides of the valley were the hunt-
ers' paradise, abounding in deer and turkeys, with some panther and bear
and numerous rattlesnakes. We wore long buckskin leggings, reaching
from the ankle up to the hips, fastened with brass buttons on each side of
the leg all the way up. The winters were not as cold then as now.
Cattle and horses were raised in the woods, and afforded all the butter,
milk, and beef that we needed. What little cotton was made was hauled
to the falls of Black Warrior, as , Tuscaloosa was then called, and
exchanged for salt, sugar, coffee, and calico, which was then twenty-five
cents per yard. I think the people enjoyed themselves then much better
than they do now. They would meet at public places every Saturday
and play "Fives" — a game much more manly and interesting than the
present game of baseball. When they got too drunk to play ball they
would fight on the real Marquis of Queensbury style, and each man would
select a second, strip to the waist, and go into a lot or ring and fight it
out. It was very seldom that any weapons were used, as it was considered
dishonorable and cowardly to carry a weapon.
The county between Jones Valley and the Warrior River, and on the
south side to the Cahaba River, was full of game. On the north
side there were but few settlers. There were Richard B. Walker, Ralph
McGee, Tom James, Isaiah Bagley, and a few others. The south side
was almost entirely uninhabited. The Warrior and Cahaba Rivers were
then beautiful streams, clear as crystal, in which you could see a fish in
ten feet of water. The fisherman in his canoe, dug out of a poplar tree,
with his gig in his hand and his rifle lying beside him, ready for a deer if
he should venture in sight, with the muscadine vines hanging in festoons
from the tops of the tall trees that overhung the water with their clusters
of black, delicious fruit, and the beautiful red-horse fish sporting beneath
his canoe, with their silver sides and red fins and tails, in the most desira-
ble and healthful climate in the United States, the thirty-third degree of
north latitude, almost entirely free from cyclones and northers, is it any
wonder that Alabama's most gifted poet, A. B. Meek, surrounded by
such scenes, should have been inspired to write the following beautiful
verses :
6o Jeffejson County.
Land of the South, imperial land,
How proud thy mountains rise !
How sweet the scenes on every hand.
How fair thy evening skies !
But not for this, oh, not for these,
I love thy fields to roam.
Thou hast a dearer spell to me,
Thou art my native home.
Thy rivers roll their liquid wealth
Unequaled to the sea;
Thy hills and valleys bloom with healtfi
And green with verdure be ;
But not for thy proud ocean streams.
Nor for their azure dome.
Sweet Sunny South, I cling to thee.
Thy art my native home.
I've stood beneath Italia's clime,
Beloved of tale and song ;
On Helvyn's hills, proud and sublime,
Where nature's wonders throng ;
By Tempe's classic sunlit stream,
Where gods of old did roam,
But ne'er have found so fair a land
As thou, my native home.
What I have said of Jefferson County in the foregoing pages is
intended to apply to it from its earUest settlement up to the year 1861.
Over the scenes which occurred here during the next five years I would
willingly draw a vail. As for the present condition and status of our
county, the public must judge for itself. And as to the future, as I am
no prophet or son of a prophet, I shall make no prediction.
Trussville was one of the most important portions of our county.
That part of the county was settled at a very early day by such men as
Warren Truss, the grandfather of our present sheriff; Nicholas Talley,
William Perkins, Charles C. Clayton, and Rickets Blythe, Elijah Self,
Stephen Garner, B. Praytor, Andrew Bass, Burnell Bass, and others.
Our territory extends over a portion of Cahaba Valley, including the
present town of Leeds. In that portion of our territory lived John
Oliver, for many years one of our representatives in the legislature. Wil-
liam Cameron was a resident and merchant of Cedar Grove. There was
also a numerous family of the McDaniels, and Worthingtons.
In that portion of our county known as the Bethlehem neighbor-
hood, in the western part of the valley, lived many good citizens, such as
Early History. 6i
Wm. Brown, Sr., and his several sons; James Rutledge, Stephen
Hodges, WiUiam Snow, Alvis Davis, etc.
In the Jonesboro neighborhood lived Wm. R. Sadler, one of the
most prominent citizens of that part of the county. He built the first
grist and saw mill in that section, and supplied the people with meal, flour,
and lumber for many years.
Among the lawyers of Elyton was Judge Peck, for many years one
of the leading attorneys of the county and of the State.
Thomas J. Wright, one of the leading merchants of Elyton, was
noted for his candor and integrity in all business transactions.
John F. Forrest was one of our last judges of the county court,
under the old system.
Colonel Green and Captain Hewitt removed to this county at an early
day, about the year 1819 or 1820, and settled about six and nine miles
north of Birmingham, respectively, which has since been known as the
Green neighborhood, and lived there till their deaths, which occurred
more than thirty years ago. They were both men of note in their day
and time. Colonel Green came from the Abbeville district. South Caro-
lina, and while quite a young man had charge for several years of the large
planting interest of George McDuffee, the eloquent representative in
Congress from that district, and it is said that after a long absence in
Washington City, on his return, his large estate had been so skillfully
managed and improved that he could scarcely recognize it as his former
property.
Colonel Green married Jane Young, one of the most amiable and lovely
women I ever knew, and after he came to Alabama he acquired property
rapidly. Such was his good judgment that everything he took hold of
seemed to prosper with him, and at his death he left a fine estate to his
family. He was a very public-spirited man, and a great friend of internal
improvements, and became a stockholder in the Selma, Rome & Dalton
road before it reached Montevallo. He was generous almost to a fault,
and I have known him in times of scarcity to send a four-horse wagon-
load of corn to his more needy neighbor, and have it thrown into his crib
without expecting any compensation. He always took an active part in
elections, and supported the candidate whom he considered the most
worthy and best qualified to fill the office he sought.
Captain Hewitt was, I think, the best informed politician I ever knew,
was a strict constructionist, and understood the true principles of the gov-
ernment thoroughly. In common with most of the Southern people of
that day he was opposed to a protective tariff, believing that the consumer
62 Jefferson Coiinty.
had to pay more than his true share of the public revenue. He was
a successful farmer, and in the latter years of his life he engaged in the
coal business. He, together with David Hanby, Jonathan Steele, and
James A. Mudd, were the pioneers of that business in this country. He
opened mines near the mouth of Turkey Creek, and David Hanby opened
higher up the river. Steele and Mudd had their location near the mouth
of Village Creek. They constructed flat-bottomed boats out of the tall
poplars that grew in the rich bottoms, and after putting on several thous-
and bushels of coal would float them down to Mobile. The Squaw
Shoals was the great obstacle, where they always had to wait for a rise
in the river, and with plenty of water they generally went over safely,
though some boats were lost, and one or two lives. The men who
learned to pilot a boat down the Warrior River safely became almost as
famous as Mark Twain's pilots described in his "Life on the Mississippi."
About the year 1832, John Cantley, a genial, whole-souled man,
made his appearance in Jefferson County, and established his home here.
He was of the mercantile firm of Audley, Gazzam & Co., of Mobile. In
passing back and forth to New York to purchase goods, he became inter-
ested in this place, and finally located here. He was a man of splendid
physique, and wonderfully magnetic in his nature. He soon became very
popular with the people of his adopted county. They gave him the high-
est honor in their power, which was to represent them in their State leg-
islature. Tuscaloosa was at that time the capital of the State.
His dry goods store was located in Elyton, and soon became the ren-
dezvous of all the bone and sinew of the county surrounding the little
antique village. There were congenial spirits found in this Jones Valley,
and among the prominent citizens of that time we will mention Judge E.
W. Peck, who has since become chief justice of the State ; another law-
yer, John W. Henley, who was the father of one of Birmingham's most
prosperous and popular physicians, Dr. Henley, also of Robt. Henley, the
first mayor of this city. The descendants of these three men are now
living in Birmingham, which has risen, phcenix-like, from the corn and
cotton fields of their fathers. Hon. John Martin, the "silver-tongued
orator," and congressman from this district, having married the daughter
of Judge Peck, is now a prominent citizen of Birmingham. Among
others at that time, living in this embryo wonder of the world, was Dr. S.
S. Earle, one of the most profound scholars and best physicians of his age.
Also Walker K. Baylor and Judge Thomas A. Walker. Any or all of
these men would have been ornaments to any society or profession.
Major Cantley subsequently removed to Tuscaloosa, which proved
Early History. 63
unfortunate for him. He engaged in the mercantile business there upon
a large scale, but his partners soon involved the firm in trouble, both
financial and otherwise. Major Cantley was quite as popular in the Druid
City as he had been in the mountains of Jefferson, and was soon made
one of the directors of the Bank of Tuscaloosa. He was a member of
that old and time-honored institution, called Masons, and at his burial
this fraternity showered every honor known to their order over his remains
and grave. At the early age of thirty-seven, in the prime of his life, this
man of promise was stricken down, without a moment's warning, by a
secreted enemy. So unsuspecting and conscious of having no such
enemy that, when dying, a few hours after, he inquired: " Who did it?"
His widow is still living with her daughter, the wife of B. E. Grace, Sr.
Mineral Interests.
About the year 1823, I think it was, that a few gentlemen of means,
McGee, and some others, being greatly impressed with the immense
deposits of brown hematite ore in Roupe Valley, thirty miles south-
west of Birmingham, determined to try the experiment of making iron
on a cheap plan, as that article was very much needed by the early set-
tlers, whose nearest market (and a very poor one at that time) was the
present town of Tuscaloosa, then more commonly known as the Falls of
the Black Warrior.
The company was so fortunate as to secure the co-operation of Mr.
Hillman, of New Jersey, the grandfather of our townsman, and part
owner and manager of the Alice Furnaces of Birmingham, one of which
was the first erected here, and on a bold little stream which runs across
Roupe Valley and empties its waters into the Shades Creek, near its
mouth, he erected his little furnace, and with a large hammer propelled
by water (which the writer has since seen in operation) hammered out a
suflficient quantity of the best kind of tough metal to supply the country
for some distance around. The farmers had their plows made and horses
shod with it, which is probably as good a test as making car wheels ; but
unfortunately for Mr. Hillman, and for the iron business in Alabama, he
died soon after getting his furnace in operation, and was buried in the
Baptist burying ground near the little town of Bucksville. It has been so
long ago that the exact spot cannot now be pointed out, and his son and
grandsons have endeavored in vain to find it in order to remove the
remains to their splendid home in Nashville, and erect a suitable monu-
ment over them.
64 Jejjerson Cottnty.
This was, I think, about the commencement of the iron manufacture
in this State. After the death of Mr. Hilhnan the property fell into the
hands of Ninean Tannehill, and afterward was run by Messrs. Stroup &
Sanders, and finally was destroyed by the Union forces, and was purchased
by the Thomas Iron Company in 1868, who are now the present owners.
Near the same time, or soon afterward, a furnace was erected a few
miles from Montevallo, by another one of Birmingham's worthy citizens,
Mr. Horace Ware, and afterward he was the principal party in the build-
ing up and putting in operation the splendid and widely-known iron works
near Columbiana.
At an early day there was a furnace or two started near Round
Mountain, near the line between Alabama and Georgia. These furnaces
were all run by charcoal. It remained for Mr. DeBardeleben and Colonel
Sloss, assisted by James and William Thomas, and others, to utilize our
bituminous coal in the manufacture of iron, which great discovery was
made only a few years ago.
At a very early date in our history it was apparent that our great nat-
ural resources could not be developed without transportation, and Congress
was applied to for assistance, and an act was passed granting a fund of
three per cent, of the sales of all the public lands in Alabama to be used
exclusively for connecting the waters of the Tennessee River with the
waters of the Mobile Bay. This act produced a large fund, which was,
from time to time, paid into the State treasury, and loaned out to com-
panies, and, I think, finally lost to the State.
The plan contemplated at first was to connect the Tennessee and
Tombigbee by canal through a succession of valleys, which extend through
our State, from northeast to south-west, but that idea was abandoned
when railroads became more common, and it was proposed by some
enterprising men to connect the two sections by a railroad from Mont-
gomery to Decatur, but that idea was ridiculed by many as fanciful. One
member from East Alabama declared, in a debate in the legislature on an
appropriation for a survey, that nothing but a pelican could travel the
country from Elyton to Decatur, and that it would have to carry its
rations in its pouch. At last, however, several years before the war, the
legislature was induced to grant the sum of ;^io,ooo for a reconnois.sance
and preliminary survey of the contemplated route, and Mr. John T.
Milner was appointed to make it. He collected his corps and entered
upon his duties, which I think consumed the best part of the year, at the
end of which he made a report to the proper authorities, which was
published in pamphlet form, and made the project look entirely feasible.
Early History. 65
The estimates of the quantities of coal and iron that would finally pass
over the road were almost prophetic, and have been more than realized.
One of our most learned and worthy citizens and best critics, after reading
it in the writer's presence, removed his spectacles from his brow and
remarked: "Well, if Milner wrote that, he must be a swinged cat, and
deceives his looks most egregiously. " It is unfortunate that so few of
these pamphlets are now extant, as they would be interesting reading.
It would be too tedious to enter into a detailed account of the difficulties
encountered in its construction. Mr. Milner was the chief engineer, and
has lived to send, himself, a great deal of the freight which he predicted
for the road. The names of Hartley Boyle and Colonel Jackson will long
be remembered in connection with its construction.
At the beginning of the war this road was approaching the mineral
region of the State, which caused the development of the Cahaba Coal
before that of the Warrior Coal Fields. About this time the company
constructing it conceived the idea of erecting iron works near Red
Mountain, and did erect two rude furnaces during the war at a point seven
miles south of Birmingham, and named the place O.xmoor. One of the
furnaces was run awhile, but was destroyed in March, 1865, by Wilson's
army. The experiment had not been encouraging up to that time, as the
company was imposed upon by incompetent persons desiring to keep out
of the war. It was not until it fell into the hands of Mr. DeBardeleben
and his associates that it began to show profitable results. Its history
since that time is well known. The last named company also established
themselves in the coal and coke business at the Pratt mines and demon-
strated to the world the fine qualities of the coal of that region. Since
the war large investments have been made here by capitalists in mineral
lands, but much remains unsold at low prices.
About the month of July, 1868, there came to the house of the
writer, on foot, with blistered feet, a fine-looking, middle-aged man who
reminded me very much of Walker K. Baylor, who is well known to all
of our old citizens. He told me he was worn out and tired and wanted
to rest, and had heard something about the Red Mountain and wanted to
see it ; said he had been engaged several years of his life in constructing
the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, and for the last four years in
fighting the Yankees and had got whipped. He said that he had belonged
to General Polk's staff, and spent all his money in providing for the necessi-
ties of the soldiers, and that his name was Tom Peters. He was quarter-
master for the corps, I believe. After a night's rest we went up on top of
the mountain, and while standing on the twenty-foot bluff of red ore he
66 Jeffet'son County.
exclaimed, in the supposed language of the Indian chief, " Here we rest."
He afterward made that point his headquarters for a year or two, and
soon effected a sale of the Roupe Valley property, which put him in funds
and gave him a start, and he probably did more to bring the capabilities
of this region for manufacturing purposes into notice than any other man.
His untimely death is known and regretted by all.
BAYLIS EARLE GRACE.
BY D. B. G.
The early days of this century brought forth men of hardy frames,
indomitable energy, and undying patriotism. On the 12th of November,
1808, Baylis Earle Grace was born inGreeneville district. South Carolina.
His middle name was bestowed upon him by his parents in honor of Gen-
eral J. B. Earle, many of whose descendants now live in Jefferson County.
When an infant the parents of Mr. Grace moved to Jackson County,
Tennessee, and when he was twelve years of age they removed to
Jefferson County, Alabama, and settled near Jonesboro. He has resided
in this county ever since. Mr. Grace entered Alabama at the time it was
admitted into the Union, and has seen it rise from a wilderness to one of
the proudest and richest of the galaxy of Southern States. But few men
are vouchsafed such a privilege by an indulgent Providence.
In those early days educational advantages were limited, and Mr.
Grace attended school but one year, near the spot where Woodward's
furnace now stands, under the tuition of Thomas Carroll. The school-
house was a log cabin without any floor. Among his schoolmates were
several pupils who afterward rose to distinction, such as John W. Henley,
the father of Dr. A. T. Henley, and William King, both of whom
became distinguished lawyers ; Drayton Nabers, the father of Dr. F. D.
Nabers, also two daughters of Isham Harrison, Eliza and Laura ; the first
named became the wife of Dr. B. W. Earle, and Laura married the late
Wm. H. Jack, an eminent lawyer of Texas.
Mr. Grace was left an orphan at an early age, and being the only
child of a widowed mother her support fell upon his shoulders. But he
descended from a line of revolutionary ancestors, and the indomitable
spirit burned in his breast that his forefathers displayed in their struggles
for independence. His grandfather, Joseph Grace, surrendered his life
for his country in the battle of Eutaw Springs. His grandmother, Mrs.
.^^Jiv
jf'^ yf^^/!±^^
Early History. 69
Catherine Elizabeth Grace, set fire to her own house rather than allow it
to shelter the enemy. Her Spartan courage was mentioned highly by
Mrs. Elliott in her work, "Women of the Revolution." It was this
same hardy courage that fired Thomas Grace with the pioneer spirit of
Daniel Boone and impelled him to carve out a home in the virgin wilds of
Kentucky, and inspired Elihu C. Grace to offer five sons to the Southern
Confederacy, and has won success in the battle of life for Rev. W. C.
Grace, of Tennessee, Colonel Preston Grace, of Arkansas, and other
descendants. It was this high sense of justice and right that has prevented
the name from ever being stained by crime.
The efforts of Mr. Grace in making his way in the world were
successful, and in 1827 he was taken into the circuit clerk's office at
Elyton by Harrison W. Goyne, as his assistant, and transacted most of
the business. At the end of the term he was elected to this office by a
vote of the people over Hugh M. Caruthers, a very popular man, and
was re-elected in 1835 and 1839, but before the expiration of his last term,
he resigned and moved to the country at the place known as Grace's Gap,
where the L. & N. road cuts through Red Mountain. During his term of
office Mr. Grace kept the neatest set of books ever known in the county,
and they are now in the archives of the county in the courthouse in
Birmingham.
In 1844 Mr. Grace was elected sheriff of Jefferson County, but as the
sheriff can only serve one term he was not a candidate for re-election.
When the law was passed requiring the lands to be assessed by sectional
divisions, he was appointed by Judge Forrest to make the first assessment,
which duty he performed to the satisfaction of all concerned. In 1859 ^^
was appointed general administrator and guardian for the county, and
held the office until 1863. In his public trusts as well as private duties he
was the same honest, earnest, faithful man. The people delighted to
honor his sterling qualities of head and heart. He never had an enemy.
His modesty has often held him back from places of preferment. He is
a gentle man.
In early manhood Mr. Grace wedded Miss Jane Mitchell, a relative
of Judge Lawrence Mitchell, of Florida, and Mrs. B. P. Worthington, of
Birmingham. His second wife was Miss Ann Eliza Cantley, daughter of
Hon. John Cantley, a member of the legislature from Jefferson County.
His first wife bore him three sons. The eldest. Rev. F. M. Grace, D. D.,
is now president of the Mansfield (La.) Female College; the second son
was accidentally killed while at college in Athens, Georgia, and the third,
5
■JO Jefferson County.
Baylis E. Grace, Jr., is a leading lawyer of Birmingham. A grandson is
part proprietor and manager of the Birmingham Daily Chronicle.
Mr. Grace has by hard study made considerable literary attainments,
and his articles to the press have been widely read and admired. He was
one of the first newspaper men of the county, and edited the Central
Alabamian, the successor to the Jones Valley Times, the first paper
published in the county, a file of which is now preserved by the Tennessee
Historical Society. A vein of poetry runs through his nature, and he has
often successfully invoked the muse. He is also a musician, and has
delighted his friends with selections on the flute. In years past he was
often the winner of the beef at shooting matches then so frequent. His
rifle is a very fine one, the gift of an admiring stock drover from Tennessee,
who stopped over night on his way South. It was the custom at these
matches to divide the beef into five quarters, the fore and hind quarters,
and the hide and tallow made the fifth.
Mr. Grace was the first person to attach any importance to the Red
Mountain as a mineral deposit. He had the first iron made that was ever
made from the ore of that mountain, by sending a two-horse wagon load
to the puddling furnace of Newton Smith, of Bibb County, who had it
smelted and hammered into bars, and it was pronounced by the black-
smiths equal to Swede iron. He afterward made the first sale of iron ore
for manufacturing purposes. The sale was made to Colonel John T.
Milner for the use of the Oxmoor Company, and from this land they now
draw their principal supply of ore. He first recognized the abilities of
Major Thomas Peters, who came to Jefferson County prospecting after the
war, and he took the Major to his home and encouraged him in develop-
ing those grand ideas which, now in the full fruition of realization, have
challenged the wonder and admiration of the civilized world.
For some years Mr. Grace has been the agent of the Thomas Iron
Company, of Pennsylvania, and all of their magnificent iron and coal
lands, which they are now developing by building furnaces and founding
a town near Birmingham, were purchased by him. It was through his
faith in the possibilities of this mineral district and his representations of
its unequaled advantages that these Pennsylvania iron kings were induced
to invest here. Their investment attracted the attention of other
capitalists, and the impetus was given to iron making that has carried the
Birmingham district to the first place in the new world.
Mr. Grace now resides one mile from Birmingham, and surrounded
by home comforts and the amenities of an extended social circle he enjoys
life with a zest equaled by few, He is a living example of the health-
Early History. 71
fulness of Jones Valley, and his pure and honest life has preserved him
to a green old age. He is a firm believer in the great future of this coun-
try. He has seen the land for which he gave a few dollars an acre
increase in value to $10,000 an acre. It is his daily custom to ride into the
city on business, and he meets hundreds of his friends who are glad to
grasp his hand and look in the eyes of an honest man — "the noblest
work of God." Of all the men who crowd the busy marts of trade there
are none whose memories reach farther back into the annals of the history
of Jefferson County. He is a link that binds the past to the present.
"Birmingham Illustrated" says: "Mr. Grace is one of the most illus-
trious characters of the valley planter. Venerable in memories of the
past, he is yet active in the new era. The victim of a revolution, he is
one of the fortunate beneficiaries of the restored prosperity of Alabama
in the new channels."
(C«>o^ly Q^^VeYy.
CHAPTER III.
SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES
in the Legislature of Alabama from Jefferson County,
ators in italics.
Names of Sen-
1822. Isaac Brown, Thomas W. Farrar.
1823. John Wood, JohnJBrown, Isham Harrison.
1824. J. Wood, Thomas W. Farrar, Benjamin Worthington.
1825. Johi Brown, J. Brown, Walker K. Baylor, John M. Dupey.
1826. J. Brozvn, J. Brown, J. M. Dupey, John Martin.
1827. J. Brown, William R. Paulding, J. Brown, John F. Forrest..
1828. John Wood, John Brown, John M. Dupey.
1829. J. Wood, John Brown, John F. Forrest.
1830. John M. Dupey, John Brown, Peyton King,
1 83 1. J. M. Dupey, Emery Loyd, Harrison W. Goyne.
1832. /. M. Djipcy, H. M. Carithers, Samuel S. Earle.
'833. /. Brown, John Brown (red), H. M. Carithers.
1834. Jolin Broivn, John Cantley, William A. Scott.
1835. /• Brown, J. Cantley, Lemuel G. McMillon.
1836. Harrison W. Goyne, L. G. McMillon, Moses Kelly, Jr.
1837. H. W. Goyne, Octavius Spencer, Benjamin Tarrant.
1838. Walker K. Baylor, S. S. Earle, L. G. McMillon.
County Officers.
1839. C- C. P. Farrar, S. S. Earle, L. G. McMillon.
1840. C. C. P. Fatrar, L. G. McMillon, Jeremiah Randolph.
1841. Walker K. Baylor, L. G. McMillon, J. Randolph.
1842. IV. K. Baylor, S. S. Earle, L. G. McMillon.
1843. Moses Kelly, William S. Mudd, L. G. McMillon.
1844. John Ashe, W. S. Mudd, Octavius Spencer.
1845. Jolin Ashe, J. Randolph, Christopher Deavers.
1847. M. Kelly, W. S. Mudd, L. G. McMillon.
1849. M. Kelly, John Camp, Hugh Copeland.
185 1. M. Kelly, William S. Earnest, S. A. Tarrant.
1853. M. Kelly, John Camp.
1855. H. W. Nelson, J. Camp.
1857. John T. Storrs, O. S. Smith.
1859. H. IV. Nelson, Alburto Martin.
1 86 1. John P. Morgan.
1863. Mitchell T. Potter, John C. Morrow.
1865. G. T. Deason, John Oliver.
1868. John Oliver, Thomas Sanford.
1870. /. Oliver, G. W. Hewitt.
1873. G. IV. Hewitt, R. S. Greene.
1874-75. /. J-V. Inzer, R. S. Greene.
1876-77. R. W. Cobb, J. J. Jolly, I. W. McAdory.
1878-79. Dr. W. A. Rosamond, W. A. Walker, Jr., J. J. Akers.
1880-81. Dr. J. B. Lnckie, Dr. Kout, H. J. Sharit.
1882-83. Dr. J. B. Luckie, James Hawkins, C. McAdory.
1884-85. R. H. Sterrett, C. McAdory, S. E. Greene.
1886-87. P- H. Sterrett, G. W. Hewitt, I. W. McAdory.
County Officers from the year i860:
PROBATE JUDGES.
W. L. Wilson was elected in May, 1862, and served until August,
1865.
John C. Morrow was appointed to fill the vacancy and served from
1865 until November, 1884.
Mitchell T. Porter was appointed November 10, 1884, and in August,
1886, was elected for a term of six years.
74 Jefferson County.
CIRCUIT CLERKS.
A. J. Waldrop, 1858 until 1865.
James M. Ware, 1865 until 1874.
R. S. Montgomery, 1874 until 1879.
R. C. Bradley, 1879 ""til 1886.
William Burgin, 1886, for a term of six years.
COUNTY TREASURERS.
Nathaniel Hawkins, i860 until 1864.
W. P. Hickman, 1864 until 1873.
C. L. McMillan, 1873 until 1877.
W. P. Hickman, 1877, term ends 1888.
COUNTY SHERIFFS.
Richard Hudson, i860 until 1862.
Abner Killough, 1862 until 1865.
W. F. Hanby, 1865 until 1868.
Marion A. May, 1868 until 1871.
James T. Eubank, 1871 until 1874.
R. H. Hagood, 1874 until 1877.
John T. Reed, 1877 until 1880.
T. A. Anderson, 1880 until 1884.
S. R. Truss, 1884, serving second term.
TAX ASSESSORS.
T. F. Waldrop, i860 until 1871.
John A." Baker, 1871 until 1875.
Samuel W. Downey, 1875 until i88r.
A. J. Tarrant, 1881, term expires 1889.
TAX COLLECTORS.
W. B. Cofley, 1858 until 1868.
T. B. Ayres, 186S until 1874.
William H. Riley, 1874 until 1880.
W. J. Mims, 18S0, still in office.
County Officers. 75
CITY JUDGE.
H. A. Sharpe, appointed December, 1884. Elected for a term of
six years in 1886.
CITY CLERK.
Frank M. Irion, appointed 1884, and reappointed 1886 for a term of
six years.
CITY SOLICITOR.
James E. Hawkins, appointed 1885, elected 1886. Term six years.
CIRCUIT SOLICITORS.
Lucian Martin, i860 until 1864.
Alburto Martin, 1864 until 1865.
Judge J. T. Luper, 1865 until 1866.
Alburto Martin, 1866 until 1868.
COUNTY SOLICITOR.
William A. Walker, Jr., 1868 until 1876.
CIRCUIT SOLICITORS.
T. B. Nesmith, 1876 until 1880.
T. W. Coleman, 1880 until 1886.
James E. Hawkins represented the latter in Jefferson County.
J. T. Martin, 1886, for a term of six years.
SURVEYORS.
Jarrell Waldrop, i860 until 1873.
H. L. Wheeler, 1873 until 1876.
J. A. Ray, 1876, still in office.
76
Jefferson County.
REGISTERS IN CHANCERY.
Joab Bagley, i860 until 1868.
James M. Ware, 1868 until 1879.
A. O. Lane, 1879 until 1883.
E. L. Clarkson, 1883 until 1886.
Charles A. Senn, 1886, for a term of six years.
4
c^. a c<:^
Z\ie BeT\(k ar\^ Baf.
A. O. LANE,
Of the^ Birminghs^m Bar.
CHAPTER IV.
The history of the Bench and Bar of Jefferson County, Alabama,
covers a period of more than fifty years. As usual with new counties
Jefferson was sparsely settled, and the administration of justice was begun,
and for several years prosecuted, in the crudest and most primitive man-
ner. There was no courthouse, and a log cabin was substituted therefor.
The first court was held in a log hut, about a mile from the Worthington
place, which is situated about one mile east of Birmingham. This seat
of justice was never dignified with a name, and after three or four terms
of the court were held there, Carrollsville (four miles south of where Bir-
mingham now stands) was selected as the place to hold the courts. Here,
too, the court accommodations never exceeded the limits of a log cabin,
in which two terms of the court were held, and then the county seat was
removed to Elyton, about two miles south of the present flourishing city
of Birmingham. All this time the county was rapidly filling up with a
thrifty and hardy population, whose aspirations reached out and secured a
brick courthouse. The courts of record continued to be held at Elyton
until the fall of 1873, when the county seat was removed to Birmingham.
Work was at once begun on a courthouse that promised to be a "beauty",
if not a "joy forever"; certainly a suitable temple of justice for even a
8o Jefferson County.
growing county for many years to come. But the foundation proved to
be a failure, and the acoustics of the courtroom are simply execrable.
The growing demand for more space and the unsafe condition of the
rickety structure will soon necessitate the erection of another edifice,
which, let it be hoped, will be worthy of a people second to none in push,
vim, enterprise, and public spirit. While the present courthouse was^
building in 1874, the courts were held in Sublett Hall, in the city of Bir-
mingham, then used as a theater.
From the formation of the county in 1819 until 1825, the supreme
court was composed of the several circuit judges of the State. It has been
referred to by one of Alabama's most witty and far-famed lawyers, as the
' ' court on horseback. " By the Constitution of 1819 the general assembly
was authorized to establish a supreme court, and thus a burden was lifted
from the circuit judges that should never have been placed on their
shoulders.
In those days the circuit judges had chancery jurisdiction, and this
continued until after the adoption of the Constitution of 18 19, soon after
which the chancery courts were established, and from that time to the
present day separate and distinct jurisdictions have been maintained,
except where city courts have been established, which, as a rule, have
been clothed with common law and equity jurisdiction, as is the case with
the city court of Birmingham, established in December, 1884. In the
early history of said county there was a county court, which was the same
as our probate courts of the present day. There was then no county
court as the same is now understood. It might be added here, in addition
to the above, there were justice courts with jurisdiction not materially
different from those of the present day. From 1825 to 1828 the presiding
judges were A. S. Lipscomb, John Gale, Jr., and John D. Flinn. Then
the judges exchanged circuits, which is now done only to a limited extent.
Judge Lipscomb was a man of more than ordinary ability. From 1828
to 1883 the courts were presided over by Henry W. Collier, S. L. Perry,
Reuben Chapman, A. B. Moore, Eli S. Shortridge, Thomas A. Walker,
Robert Dougherty, Thomas D. Shortridge, and W. S. Mudd. Of these
Colyer, Perry, Chapman, and Moore afterward became Governors of Ala-
bama. Eli Shortridge was a learned and able judge. He was possessed
of fine sense, clear perception, and vigorous intellect. Dougherty was a
great wit, but at the same time a profound lawyer and a good judge.
Collier was a close student and a fine lawyer, and he utilized and
illustrated his learning on the bench. Perry, Chapman, Moore, Walker,
and George D. Shortridge were all good judges and men of more than
'/f
The Bench and Bar. 83
ordinary ability. William S. Mudd became judge in 1857 and remained
on the bench until 1883, when ill health compelled him to resign. It is
safe to say Alabama never had a sounder lawyer or more accurate circuit
judge than Mudd. The writer well remembers the first time he ever saw
Judge Mudd ; he was on the bench at the time, and his love of justice
was noticeable in every ruling. He presided with dignity, and was so
careful to always try to do exact justice that the unfortunate litigant rarely
complained. He had no patience for falsehood, and whenever it showed
itself he would turn away, as if ashamed of his race, and look out of the
window that the jury might not see his disgust. The confidence of the
people in his honor and integrity was simply boundless. If a little exag-
gerated, it was pretty well illustrated by a remark of one who knew him
well, that a certain individual "was as honest as Jesus Christ; yes, as
honest as Judge Mudd." He was, perhaps, the best poised man, intel-
lectually, that the writer ever knew. He was not brilliant, but sound,
safe, logical, deep, and practical. Give him twenty-four hours to investi-
gate a case and his opinion would be almost infallible.
He was succeeded by 5. H. Spratt, of Livingston, Ala., a compara-
tively young man. The latter's term expired the first day of November,
1886. He is a bright, active, energetic man, and his record as a judge
was endorsed by his renomination for a second term. However, in redis-
tricting the circuits in February, 1885, Jefferson was put into the Fifth
Judicial Circuit. Le Roy F. Box was elected judge of this circuit in
August, 1886, and will sit for the next six years. He is a lawyer of
ability, and, with his clear perception and love of justice, does credit to
the bench. He is hardly more than forty-six years old, and many years
more of usefulness lie before him.
The circuit court docket was getting sadly overcrowded, mainly on
account of the rapid growth of the county, and in 1886 the city court of
Birmingham, with common law and equity jurisdiction, was established.
This court is in session the year round, with the exception of June and
December. It has taken long strides toward relieving the circuit court,
and it has almost absorbed the civil business of the county. The county
was most fortunate in the selection of a judge for this court. Henry A.
Sharpe was appointed by the Governor in December, 1884, and he was
re-elected by the people in August, 1886, without opposition. Although
under 40 years of age, he is a profound lawyer, and his administration of
justice has given extraordinary satisfaction to the bar and to the people at
large. He is dignified, painstaking, patient, courteous, and learned.
While he is not a disciplinarian in the ordinary sense of the term, still he
^4 Jeffcrso7i County.
effects the same object by the esteem and confidence which he wins from
the bar. Not one who practices before him could be induced to treat him
with disrespect. His method may well be illustrated by a little incident
that occurred during the present year. Two of the bar had become quite
heated over a question "before the court and began to wrangle over it. He
quietly reminded them that he would settle the matter if they would be
seated. Their blood was up, and they found it difficult to desist from
giving each other a few parting words. Apparently unmoved the judge
quietly remarked, " Gentlemen, if you persist in this wrangling you will
incur the displeasure of the court." That remark was "oil upon the
troubled waters," and from that time on not a ripple occurred upon the
current of the proceedings in the case.
Since the civil war, chancery court has been held in this county, with
the following named gentlemen on the bench, who presided in succession
as named : J. B. Clarke, J. Q. Loomis, Wm. B. Woods, Charles Turner,
and Thomas Cobbs.
Chancellor Clarke was a man of marked ability, and had the finest dis-
cipline in his court. He was painstaking, and his decisions exhibited pro-
fundity of thought, extensive learning, and careful research. He was dis-
placed by the Republicans in 1868, and was succeeded by Charles Turner,
then of Selma, but formerly of Connecticut. He proved a worthy suc-
cessor of even such a chancellor as Clarke. His ability to dispatch busi-
ness was remarkable. Although not in political sympathy with the bar
he soon won their respect. His mind was clear, and his love of justice
dominated every other influence.
He was succeeded in 1880 by Thomas Cobbs, of Livingston, Ala.,
who soon afterward removed to Birmingham, where he has ever since
resided. He was a ripe lawyer, and by his exceptionally courteous bear-
ing he soon won a high place in the esteem and affection of the bar. He,
too, dispatches business with facility and ease, and the docket will never
become crowded with Cobbs on the bench. So satisfactory was his admin-
istration of the office that he was re-elected without opposition. He has
just begun his second term, and will, therefore, hold for the next six years.
The business of this court has been largely absorbed by the city court
of Birmingham, because it sits continually and the chancery court sits but
twice a year. Chancery business has largely increased in recent years.
Some idea of its former insignificance may be derived from the fact that
some twenty years ago the register had forgotten when his court would
meet, and when the chancellor arrived the register had gone a-fishing with
the docket in his pocket. It is hardly necessary to add that when he
The Bench and Bar. 85
returned he found the only business transacted was his own removal.
However, no one considered it very seriously except the chancellor, for
the bar, and especially the register (who was a noble, whole-souled old
gentleman), treated the matter as the "best joke of the season."
The probate court, formerly called county court, was first presided over
by Peter Walker. He was a man of bright intellect and genial manners.
He hailed from Virginia, and was a lawyer of moderate ability. He was suc-
ceeded by John Brown, commonly known as "Red" Brown on account
of his ruddy complexion, to distinguish him from the other John Browns
in the county. Walker K. Baylor was next in succession. He was highly
educated, but was not studious, and was not regarded as a profound law-
yer. He afterward became circuit judge. In the fall of 1844 he came
in from his circuit and was making preparations for visiting his brother in
Texas. At that time Texas was a wild and turbulent country. His
friends prevailed on him to carry with him a Colt revolver, then a very
rare weapon and a great show to the people, few of whom had ever seen
one. He said he had never owned or carried a pistol, and that he had
bought that one against his better judgment. He seemed to have a pre-
monition that it would, in some way, prove his own destruction. While
showing it to his brother and other friends in Texas it was accidentally dis-
charged and killed him. He was then about fifty years old and had never
married. When he left Kentucky he parted from a pure, sweet girl, who
was soon to become his wife. When he returned for her, her new-made
grave was there to tell him if he would meet her it must be in heaven.
He remained loyal to her to the last. He would take a "spree" of a
few days every few months, and when about to "sober up" he would go
with horse, dog and gun into the woods and remain a week or so, when
he would return, as bright as a silver dollar, and then stick to business for
several months. He could draw as sweet strains from the violin as ever
issued from the throat of the sweetest warbler of the forest. Before he
left for Texas he gave his violin to James Wilson, then and now one of
Jefferson County's best citizens, to keep until they should meet again.
Moses Kelly succeeded Judge Baylor. He was not a lawyer, but a
man of fair native ability, which, however, had not been improved by a
liberal education. But he was popular with the masses.
Next in succession was W. L. Wilson, who now resides in Birming-
ham and is still a leading citizen of the county. He was not " learned in
the law," but, withal, was a man with good, practical sense, and performed
his duty faithfully and well.
86 Jefferson County.
He was succeeded by John C. Morrow, who held the office about
twenty years and resigned two years ago. He is a born Chesterfield, and
it is safe to say no man can converse with him and not like him. In spite
of the fact that he administered his office loosely, the people have always
stood by him when he contested for their suffrages. On Judge Morrow's
resignation the Governor appointed to fill the vacancy M. T. Porter, an
exceptionally pure and upright man. He was elected without opposition
in August, 1886, to succeed himself. He is a sound, safe lawyer, and is
quite accurate in his rulings. He acts as county judge, to try the smaller
grade of criminal offenses, which consumes a very large part of his time.
This and the crowded condition of the court present very serious obstacles
to a proper administration of his office. As a rule, it is the worthless
man who has no enemies. This rule finds an exception in the life of Hon.
M. T. Porter. A more worthy man or a truer citizen it would be hard,
if not impossible, to find ; and yet perhaps the county might be searched
from one end to the other without finding a single man to say aught
against " Mitch " Porter. It used to be a favorite diversion with a former
influential and humorous member of the Birmingham bar to try to put
dissatisfied litigants to finding fault with Porter for some fancied wrong.
Invariably the grumbler would say, "No, 'Mitch' Porter never did it;
some of his associate counsel were the guilty parties."
Courts are held throughout the county by justices of the peace, but
these courts have little to do outside of Birmingham. But the business
conducted by these officers in Birmingham is simply immense. Some of
them often have fifty or sixty cases a month and their fees amount to
$1,500 to $2,000 per annum each. ■
For some time after the formation of the county there was but little
business in the courts, and the demand for legal services was filled by
three or four legal practitioners and by several lawyers from adjoining
counties. The earliest attainable data give the names of Thomas W. Far-
rar, Francis Bugbee, Walker K. Baylor, and E. W. Peck as the lawyers
composing the Jefferson County Bar.
General Farrar came from North Carolina, and was about forty years
old, corpulent, big-hearted, genial, and an epicure. No dinner party
was complete without him. His appetite always relieved any deficiency
of the caterer. He had little energy, but, withal, was a good lawyer.
Francis Bugbee hailed from Connecticut. He was highly educated
and cultivated, and for those times an excellent la\v'yer. He married Miss
Lavinia Tarrant, of Jefferson County, in 1878, and soon afterward
removed to Montgomery, Ala.
The Bench and Bar. 87
Walker K. Baylor was from Kentucky, as hereinbefore stated, being
the same party alluded to above as circuit judge.
E. W. Peck immigrated to the county in 1824 from the State of New
York. At that period a law student had to study law seven years under the
tutelage of a lawyer before he could be admitted to practice law, unless he
was a graduate of some college or had pursued classical studies, in either of
which cases the time might be reduced to three years, but not less — every
year of classical study being counted as a part of the seven years, up to four
years. Young Peck's education was obtained in the common schools of
that day, supplemented by a three years' course in the academies of New
York State. He began the study of law in 1 8 19, at the age of twenty
years. He pursued his studies until 1824, when he was admitted to the
bar and came South in quest of fame and fortune. He came with a young
friend in a one-horse wagon (the vehicle now called buggy), and after
traveling six weeks reached Huntsville, Ala. There he took a horse and
started alone on horseback to Cahaba, then the capital of Alabama. He
fell in with Simeon Streeter on the way, who advised him to locate at
Elyton. He accepted his advice and stuck out his shingle in that little
village. He was received with an old-time Southern hospitality. Writing
of it years afterward he said : " I at once regarded myself as perma-
nently located to do the best I could to make a living, and if possible to
do something better. The people with whom I had cast my lot treated
me with such real Southern cordiality and heartiness that it relieved me of
many of my anxieties and troubles and inspired me with a good hope that
my life among them would prove a success." The four years' training he
had received begun to show its good fruits from the first, and, though quite
young, he began to work right to the front. He was sober, industrious,
and talented, and soon engaged the best practice at the bar. About that
time Matthew W. Lindsay was solicitor, and he was one of the finest pros-
ecuting officers the State of Alabama ever produced. He was a terror to
evil doers. They feared him and yet they admired him. Generally,
whenever they had to encounter his eloquence and logic, they would pit
against him the wiry and gifted Peck. He continued to practice in Jeffer-
son County until 1833, when he moved to Tuscaloosa, which had been
made the capital of Alabama. Here he has ever since resided. In 186S
he became chief justice of the supreme court, and his decisions were
marked for learning and ability, especially on all questions of pleading.
In 1825 Peter Walker, of Virginia, and John F. Forest, of North
Carolina, moved to Elyton and practiced law together. They were good
88 Jeffersoti County.
men, but had indifferent success in their practice. Afterward each of
them became judges of the county court.
About the same year P. N. Wilson, a young lawyer from Tuscaloosa,
settled in Elyton. He remained only a few years, when he removed to
Sumter County, Ala. He was a young man of fine ability, and after-
ward became one of the best lawyers in the State.
Thomas A. Walker, a young lawyer, settled in Elyton about 1828,
and practiced there several years. He was a man of fair abilities and
great purity of character. He removed to Calhoun County, and was twice
elected circuit judge.
Wm. S. Mudd entered the professional arena in 1839, and met with
phenomenal success. He has already received a notice in this sketch,
and it only remains to add that he was for some years circuit solicitor and
filled the position with credit. He had a great reputation as a collector.
In those days merchants were nearly all solvent, but many of them were
"slow." Mudd, on getting a claim, would at once remit the money to
his clients and afterward collect from the tardy debtor. By this he
attained two objects ; in the first place he pleased his clients and built up
his business,, and in the second place he got interest on the money he had
advanced and remitted.
In 1851 M. T. Porter began the practice of law at Elyton, and met
with considerable success. He continued to practice there until the
county seat was removed to Birmingham.
Alburto Martin, then a young man, removed to Elyton from Pickens
County. He was a bright fellow and the soul of honor, and met
with good success.- In 1857 ^^^ formed a partnership with M. T. Porter
under the firm name of Porter & Martin, and they enjoyed a large prac-
tice until Martin's death in 1879. Porter continued the practice alone
for a few months, when he formed a partnership with his son, M. A.
Porter. They practiced together until M. T. Porter was made judge of
probate in 1884.
In 1858 John C. Morrow and G. W. Hewitt, then young men, were
admitted to the practice of law, and soon afterward formed a partner-
ship under the firm name of Morrow & Hewitt. They practiced together
about two years, when Morrow was elected probate judge. Hewitt con-
tinued the practice until the civil war, in which he enlisted for the Con-
federacy. After the war he resumed the practice, and met with great
success. He has a vigorous intellect, and conducts his cases with skill.
In 1867 W^ A. Walker was admitted to the bar, and Hewitt and he,
in 1870, formed a partnership under the firm name of Hewitt & Walker,
T!ie Bc?ich and Bar. 91
and they practiced together until 1884, when they took into the firm M.
A. Porter, and the firm is now known as Hewitt, Walker & Porter. V*'.
A. Walker, Jr., is one of the best poised lawyers in the county. Take
him any way you will and he is always found "level headed." He has
the confidence of all the people.
W. S. Earnest began the practice of law at Elyton about 18 — , and
continued the practice until his death in 1S82. He was a warm-hearted,
genial man, but loved his fun and did not " stick close " to his professional
duties.
In 1872-73 there came to Birmingham the following lawyers : R. H.
Henley, R. H. Pearson, George S. Cox, H. A. Young, Eugene McCaa,
E. L,' Clarkson, John T. Terry, W. W. Moore, E. K. Fulton, W.
W. Shortridge, and A. O. Lane. Henley was a brilliant man, but
was in wretched health, and soon died. Pearson walked into a good prac-
tice from the start, and his professional life has been a great success.
He is a sound lawyer, a close student. He has fine personal magnetism,
which, with his native talent and loyalty to his profession, will always
insure him a large practice.
Eugene McCaa was a brilliant man, but he was in Birmingham onl)-
a few months when he returned to Marengo County.
John T. Terry was a man of great native ability, and for years he
enjoyed a fine practice. He was a safe counselor, and few lawyers had
greater strength before a jury. Latterly he did not devote much time to
his profession ; warm-hearted and genial, he spent most of his time in
social intercourse with his friends. Being a fine conversationalist, he had
many friends seeking his companionship. Having formed a partnership
with A. O. Lane in 1874, they practiced together until 1885, when Col.
Terry retired from the practice, having accumulated a fortune.
W. W. Moore was a warm-hearted, genial young gentleman ; but his
health was most wretched, and he was unable to devote himself to stud}-
and research. Consumption carried him away in 1879. A nobler citizen
or a truer friend never lived.
James E. Hawkins, a native of this county, was admitted to the bar
in 1872. He practiced here for about two years when he removed to
Shelby County, and after remaining there one year he returned to Bir-
mingham. He is a gentleman of great, good humor and pleasing address,
and a fluent speaker. He is solicitor for the city court of Birmingham,
and discharges his duty with credit to himself and satisfaction to the
public.
92 Jeffei^soJi Comity.
E. K. Fulton came to this city from Sumter County in 1873. He
has enjoyed a liberal practice, and is always faithful to the interests of his
clients.
John J. Jolly began the practice here in 1874, having come from
Eutaw, Ala. Already possessing a good reputation as a fluent and
attractive speaker, he commanded a large practice from the start. His
health failed him and he returned to Green County in 1877.
E. L. Clarkson began the practice in Birmingham in 1873. He sus-
tained himself well as a young lawyer of research, clear perception, and stu-
diousness. He practiced here until 1878, when he removed to Green
Count)', where he remained for two or three years. He then resumed the
practice here, and has sustained a Hberal patronage to the present time.
Ellis Phelan began the practice at Elyton in 1 871, and enjoyed a good
practice for several years, when he was elected secretary of state and
removed to Montgomery. He is a man of sterling worth, but has not
much taste for his chosen profession. No man has ever possessed more
completely the confidence of the people.
R. A. McAdory began the practice at Elyton in 1870, and while
possessing a fine mind he had little inclination to law and abandoned the
profession in 1883.
J. M. Russell was admitted to the bar in 1877 at Birmingham, where
he has since practiced. By his indomitable energy he has amassed con-
siderable means.
W. W. Shortridge was a bright young man, but he remained in Jeffer-
son County too short a time to work himself into practice. He returned
to Shelby in 1873.
This brings the history of the bar down to within the last four or five
years, and as the number of lawyers has increased to nearly one hundred
the limits of this sketch will not allow of anything more than to give
their names, whence they came, and their length of residence in this
city and practice at this bar.
The Bencli and Bar. 93
MEMBERS OF THE BIRMINGHAM BAR,
No. Years
Names. Where From. in Birmingham,
E. T. Taliaferro Fort Smith, Ark 2
B. H. Tabor Fort Smith, Ark i
M. A. Porter Elyton, Ala 4
C. F. Eastman Rappahannock County, Va. . .3
W. E. Martin Columbus, Miss 3
Robert Hagood Elyton, Ala 6 mos.
Jas. E. Webb Greensboro, Ala 2
J. P. Tillman Selma, Ala 2
D. D. Smith Randolph County, Ala. ... 4
R. J. Lowe Huntsville, Ala 5
C. A. Mountjoy King George County, Va. . . 5
Jno. W. Tomlinson Tate Springs, Tenn 3
Jno. D. Strange Ashville, Ala 8
J. J. Altman Livingston, Ala 6
J. B. Earle, Jr Birmingham, Ala i
J. J. Garrett Greensboro, Ala 4
O. W. Underwood Louisville, Ky 2
J. M. Gillespie Jonesboro, Ala .7
E. J. Smeyer Cherokee County, Ala. ... 4
J. P. Stiles Columbus, Miss 4
R. H. Sterrett Selma, Ala 4
W. C. Ward Selma, Ala 2
J. W. Chamblee Ashville, Ala 6
W. T. Poe . . . . ' Greensboro, Ala i
J. J. Banks Union Springs, Ala i
B. M. Allen Greensboro, Ala 4
E. K. Campbell Abingdon, Va 2
Jno. T. Heflin, the nestor of the bar, Talladega, Ala 5
M. J. Gregg Greenville, Tenn 6
W. J. Cahalen Birmingham, Ala 7
D. F. Myers Augusta, Ga 6 mos.
W, O. Berryman Georgetown, Ky. ... 6 mos.
R. C. Redus Columbus, Miss 6 mos.
S. E. Greene Elyton, Ala 6
S. L. Weaver Warrior, Ala 3
H. C. Selheimer Pittsburg, Pa 2
94 Jefferson Comity.
L. C. Dickey Greensboro, Ala 2
J. F. Gillespie Decatur, Ala i
J. M. Martin Tuscaloosa, Ala 4 mos.
J. S. McEachin Tuscaloosa, Ala 3 mos.
J. M. Vanhoose Tuscaloosa, Ala i
Walker Percy Greenville, Miss i
W. M. Brooks Selma, Ala 3 mos.
Jno. Vary Marion, Ala 2
Leigh Carroll New Orleans i
Joseph Carroll New Orleans I
James Weatherly Montgomery, Ala 4
Samuel P. Putnam Pulaski, Tenn 2
W. W. Wilkerson Union Springs, Ala i
N. B. Feagin Anniston, Ala 6 mos.
W. B. Mitchell Georgetown, Ky i
B. L. Hibbard Mobile, Ala 9 mos.
C. A. Senn Graniteville, S. C 3
W. M. Bethea Talladega, Ala 3
F. B. Hemphill Tuscaloosa, Ala i
Geo. P. Zimmerman Pensacola, Fla i
G. R. Horst Nashville, Tenn i
Frank S. White Mississippi 6 mos
H. Patty Mississippi 6 mos
Robert P. Duncan Clarksdale, Miss. ... 6 mos
Most of the above named are young men, and it may safely be said
that no bar in the co^. '^•y can produce a set of more sober, industrious,
energetic, active, brainy young lawyers. Many of them are able lawyers
already, and still others need nothing more than experience and age to
insure them fame and fortune.
'^^'/''^yy>'^/f//^^ "-»'-'.'-
J\)e /r\edieal profession.
JOHN D. S. i)AVIS, M. D.
CHAPTER V
The medical history of Jones Valley dates from the year 1819, one
year previous to the formation of Jefferson County. Until the year 181 5
the territory of Jefferson County was known as the favorite hunting
ground of a few Creek, Choctaw, and Cherokee Indians, who lived on the
banks of the Warrior and Cahaba Rivers. If these Indians had their
medicine man, the war records give no account of him. About the year
18 1 5, a small party of whites made the first settlement near old Jones-
boro, about twelve miles south-west of Birmingham, and began the
development of the Valley, which took its name from one of the settlers.
Until the year 18 19, when a member of the party would become ill some
one of his friends would administer a purgative or bleed him, and leave
him to Nature for the rest. In the year 18 19, Dr. Peyton King, a grad-
uate of the University of Pennsylvania, located near old Jonesboro and
began the practice of his profession. He continued to practice in that
section until the year 1833, when he emigrated to Pickens County, Ala-
bama. Dr. James Keller was the first to locate in the Valley after the
formation of Jefferson County in the year 1820. He located near the
Smith place, where Wheeling is now situated. He was a first-course
student from Lexington, Ky., and never took a second course of lectures.
He did a large practice in that section for twenty years.
fefferso)i Coioity.
Of the successful practitioners of medicine in Jefferson County during
the early history of the county, who were non-graduates of medicine,
were Drs. Samuel S. Earle, of Elyton, and Daniel Davis, of Davis Place.
The first of these, Dr. Samuel S. Earle, attended one course of lectures
at the University of Pennsylvania in the winter of i8 18-19. ^^ '^^^ ^
native South Carolinian, of honorable birth and good education. He was
one of the most prominent citizens of the county for fifty years. He
was born in 1799, and came to Alabama in 1820. He represented the
county in the legislature in the years 1832-42. His high literary attain-
ments, his polished manner, his practical good sense, and many excellen-
cies of character soon gave him prominence. The Elyton Sun of Dec.
21, 1870, contained the following on his death : " Dr. Earle died Tuesday,
the 20th of December, at 7 o'clock p. m. Dr. Earle has been for fifty
years past the most prominent citizen of Jefferson County, and his death
obliterates one of the very few landmarks which now connect the present
with the far-distant past of fifty years. He was a man of grace, of cul-
ture, of literary attainments unusual, of rare medical skill and science,
and of qualities of both head and heart that rendered him a distinguished
and exceptional man in any land and amongst any people. * * * He
lived to the ripe old age of seventy-one years, and his death was caused
more from worn-out nature than from any specific disease." It was said
of him by the rich, the poor, the high, the low, the good and bad, that
"he was to all alike." Though he had but poor advantages in the prose-
cution of his studies in medicine, he never remained idle or lingered in
the field of study and investigation until his knowledge of medicine was
unexceptionally thorough. In the practice of his profession he was hon-
orable, in politics he was noted as fair and correct, and in private life a
congenial companion. His conversational powers were exceptional.
Having a brain guided by a pure heart he truly lived a life of honor and
usefulness. Brewer's Sketch of Public Men of Alabama closes the sketch
of his life in these words: "To add greater honor to his age than man
could give him, he died fearing God."
The last of the men of this period was Dr. Daniel Davis. Dr. Davis
moved to Alabama from North Carolina in the year 1818, and settled in
Tuscaloosa. In 1820 he returned to South Carolina to marry. After
his marriage he came to Tuscaloosa, where he began the practice of m.edi-
cine, after a course of home study. He came to Jefferson County in the
year 1822, and did a successful practice until the year 1844. He was one
of the pioneers of this country. He left a home of culture, luxury, and
ease to cast his lot with the adventurist — I say adventurist, for it was-
Tlie Medical Profession. 99
nothing less. In Alabama, with his cultivation, in the midst of a new and
ambitious people, he applied the skill of his ingenuity to the development
of the country. It was not his pleasure to practice, nor was it a neces-
sity, as he had of money, lands, and negroes a sufficiency, and far beyond
that possible for his professional income to supply ; but realizing the great
need of medical aid in the country to direct hygienic regulations and to
administer to the suffering, he was, from a sense of duty to his friends,
persuaded by them to resume the practice of medicine in Jefferson
County. And he gave it his time and study as though his living was in
it. He was popular among his medical associates, and no greater eulogy
can be paid to his memory than the words uttered by Dr. Jos. R. Smith,
while in conversation with the writer a few days ago. Dr. Smith said :
" Dr. Davis was the young man's friend and the people's servant. When
I came to the county in 1841 he was doing the practice of the neighbor-
hood gratis. He gave me my first case at Bucksville, and aided me in
my first attempt at surgery in the dressing of a fracture of the neck of
the femur, in which he gave me the consideration which he would have
accorded to any surgeon in the land." Once a young man, he knew the
feelings of an aspiring boy, and never failed to assist him. This was not
confined to his profession alone, but was evinced many times in other
fields. I remember one occasion (as related to me) when a nephew left
his father's home, in an Eastern State, Mr. Davis received a letter from
his sister requesting him to refuse her son shelter and force his return
home. The boy sneakingly approached the house of Dr. Davis, and
when discovered Dr. Davis opened his arms and home and took the boy
in with a loving, familiar and fatherly " God bless you." It was so differ-
ent to the reception which he had been in the habit of receiving that he
was inspired to new effort, and receiving an education at the hands of Dr.
Davis became a very successful physician, and when he died at the age
of forty years he left an estate worth over $200,000. Dr. Davis was
widely renowned for his extensive knowledge and profound learning. In
another department of this work will be paid a tribute to his intellect and
culture, more fitting than can naturally be expected of a grandson. Of
a large family of sons and daughters, he had two sons to select the chosen
profession of their father. The elder, Elias, was the father of Drs. J. D.
S. and W. E. B. Davis, now of Birmingham, and the younger, Ralph,
now resides at Montevallo, Alabama, and is doing a large practice. Dr.
Davis' ancestry dates back to Dr. Daniel Davis, a Welshman by birth,
who practiced medicine in London, England, during the sixteenth cen-
tury. To meet Dr. Davis was not only to see the polished exterior of a
Jefferson County.
gentleman, but to soon learn that he was in truth a gentleman. In the
year 1861 he fell from the platform of his plantation ginhouse and broke
his right forearm, from the effects of which he never recovered. He was
characterized with the faith of a true believer in Christ, and ever rejoiced
in a hope of the future. From pneumonia, on the 12th of July, 1S69,
like the full blown leaf that has lived and fluttered away its spring and
summer, and has lived out its full life drops in autumn, draped in gor-
geous funeral robings, like the fruit which has ripened and fell, he passed
away to the realms beyond.
Dr. John Spearman Edwards came to this county in the year 1830
to engage in the practice of medicine. He located at Elyton, and soon
afterward removed to Trussville, twelve miles north-east of Birmingham.
He was one of the wealthiest men in North Alabama, of good South
Carolina birth, of fine education and pleasing address. He was a true
type of manhood, culture, and honor. Soon after beginning the practice
of medicine in Alabama his health gave way, and he retired from the
active service of professional and business life. He had four children,
one son and three daughters. The son, Merideth, a respected farmer,
still lives at Trussville, and has a son. Dr. R. S. Edwards, who has selected
the profession of his grandfather; the eldest daughter, Georgiana, died at
the age of fourteen years ; the second daughter, Pollie, married George
Robinson, and had a son, Dr. J. B. Robinson, of Woodlawn, Alabama,
to follow in the footprints of his ancestor; the youngest daughter, Rhoda
T. , married Sinkler Lathem, of South CaroHna, and left a family of three
children, a son and two daughters — John E. T. Lathem, a planter, mar-
ried the granddaughter of Dr. Zachariah Hagood, of this county ; the
eldest daughter, Sarah T., married Dyer Talley, and after a widowhood
of fifteen years from his death she married Alfred Griffin, and both died
in the year 1885 ; the youngest daughter, Rhoda Georgiana, married Dr.
Elias Davis, the son of Dr. Daniel Davis, and is the mother of the Drs.
J. D. S. Davis and W. E. B. Davis, of Birmingham. Dr. Edwards came
to Alabama to invest his wealth and to practice his profession. He was
simple, yet brilliant in literature and in science ; he was pure, and ever
held up a high standard of medical ethics; he was practical as well as
theoretical. Though prevented, by reason of bad health, from following
the profession of his selection, he did not fail to stamp his impress upon
the profession of that age. Many of his papers on medical subjects are
now in the library of his great-grandsons, the Drs. Davis, in Birmingham.
They show the results of a progressive, investigative, and logical mind.
Dr. Edwards was born January ist, 1791. and died January i8th, 1841.
^'^
Tlie Medical Profession. 103
The following are the names of the physicians who practiced in the
county before the year 1850: Dr. Nimrod Randolph (non-graduate), who
was located four miles south-west of Birmingham at a place called Car-
rollsville, the county seat, now known as the Mrs. Nabor's place. He
practiced from 1823 to 1827. He died in the year 1829. Dr. William
English (non-graduate) came to the county in the year 1830, and removed
after one year to Talledega, Alabama. Dr. VVeaks practiced in the
■county from 1843 to 1845. Dr. Jones Hay from 1843 to 1856. Dr.
Lipsicum at Jonesboro from 1841 to 1842. Dr. Bagsdale on Cahaba
River, near the place of the old Indian town called " Mudd Town," in
the year 1850, and afterward practiced in St. Clair a number of years,
and then returned to Trussville in the year 1864, and remained until the
year 1870, when he went to Texas and died of malarial fever. Dr. Zacha-
riah Hagood lived and practiced at Hagood's Crossroads, in the north-east-
ern part of Jefferson during the years from 1840 to 1856.
It now becomes my duty to record the history of Dr. Jos. R. Smith,
the most remarkable practitioner and successful business man this county
has ever been blessed with. It is no desire of the writer to attempt any-
thing like fulsome laudation of a friend, nor is this a tribute presented
with the hope of adding to the fame of one whose life has been devoted
to active, fruitful industry in usefulness to his fellowmen, governed by a
singlemindedness to truth, and unswerving fidelity to the discharge of
every duty pertaining to his position as a citizen, a genuine philanthropist,
and a much-beloved and highly-accomplished physician. Dr. Smith's
fame is written in the annals of scientific medicine, and though retired he
yet exerts an influence upon the members of the profession which he has
done so much to advance. In him we find a rare type of exalted man-
hood. My father. Dr. Elias Davis, once s^id of him, "He is honor,"
and he spoke the whole truth. Dr. Smith graduated at the Transylvania
Medical College of Lexington, Ky., in the year 1841. He was given his
first case by Dr. Daniel Davis, whom Dr. Smith ever recognized as a
friend and honored companion. Dr. Smith attended a course of lectures
in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the winter of 1846, and during the Mexi-
can war he was present and saw Generals Scott and Butler leave the St.
Charles Hotel for Mexico. Dr. Smith was very successful in the practice
of his profession, and performed many operations in surgery. His sound,
practical method of dealing with all cases, together with his success as an
operator, gave him the reputation of the surgeon of the county. Dr.
Smith is truly a medical philosopher. A mere glance at the list of his
contributions to medical literature will show the versatility of his genius.
I04 Jefferson County.
Most of his papers are to be found in the volumes of the Western Lancet
and New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal. The following papers
were from his pen: "Typhoid Fever and its Treatment, with reference
to an epidemic which prevailed in Elyton and vicinity during the spring
of 1858," "Iodine in Snake Bite," "Removal of an Iron Scale from the
Eye by Chemical Solution," " Notes of a case of Dropsy, where paracen-
tesis abdominis was performed, and after the operation a silver tube
introduced," and others. In the practice of medicine he was noted for
his unmeasured scorn and contempt for the impostor and polypharmacist.
In the study of the natural history of disease he was a very close observer,
and possessing a strong and analytical mind naturally became the leader
of the profession in the county. Every prescription he made was with a
definite purpose, guided by a remarkably charming simplicity, and may
he live to see the "shot-gun" prescription of modern times buried
beneath the slow lashing waves of oblivion. As a citizen his life has been
one of exemplary habits ; of this, however, the reader will learn more
from another department of this work. There are few men in this county
who have become so endeared to the people as Dr. Smith. May he live
long and enjoy the wealth of his toil, the experience of his age, and feast
on the hope for the future.
Dr. Elias Davis, a son of Dr. Daniel Davis, read medicine at Elyton
with Dr. Joseph R. Smith in 1852-53, and graduated from the
Medical College of Georgia in 1856, and located at Trussville, where he did
a large and successful plantation practice until the year 1861, when he
volunteered for the Confederate service. In all things Dr. Davis was a
man of marked independence and fearlessness — not that so-called inde-
pendence and fearlessness which manifest themselves in acts of turbulence
and indifference to public opinion, right or wrong, but they were of that
character which animate chivalrous manhood and dare to brave public
censure when panoplied with truth and right. In the secession move-
ment of 1 86 1 he promptly offered his services to the Confederate Govern-
ment and went on duty. It was said of him by the Rev. Dr. J. J. D.
Renfro, Chaplain of the Tenth Alabama Regiment: "He discharged his
duties with an efficiency and noble daring unsurpassed by any son from
Alabama. * * * Many hard-fought battles all conspire to attest his
devotion to the cause and his gallantry in action."
While an eminent and dearly-beloved physician, he possessed a mind
of varied and rare endowments for philosophy and history. His assiduous
and systematic study during the years of his college course and short pro-
fessional career made him quite proficient in these branches as well as in
c/ui - }l^c^---,Ji/^-a-yL^ ^(^ . oc/-
Tlie Medical Profession. 107
medicine. He was a surgeon of no small ability, and had an unmeasured
contempt for the surgical jobber — dexterous in using the knife, but ignor-
ant of the higher and better parts of the science. During his private
career as a practitioner of medicine and surgery, as well as when called
upon to serve his poor wounded companions, he. was never known to
attempt the so-called brilliant operations, but he proceeded under all cir-
cumstances slowly, with a conscientious view to the best interest of the
patient. He would make all possible preparation, and then taking the
knife would proceed slowly and systematically to the work, the results
showing a marvelous skill. He never contributed to medical periodicals,
but he left in his library many valuable papers. These papers, which
were the fruits of a clear, logical, and analytical mind, prove the constant
and steady progress of the student and physician. His papers have been
bound, and are in the library of his only sons, Drs. J. D. S. and \V. E.
B. Davis, of Birmingham.
He never made merchandise of principles in order that popular
approval might signalize his efforts. He was benevolent, and his donations
to charitable institutions were always liberal. He was ever ready and
willing to help the needy, and it is remarkable, nevertheless true, that no
applicant for aid ever left his presence unprovided for. He was warm-
hearted, friendly, hospitable, and generous to a fault. In his treatment
of classes he displayed to all alike such a gentleness, tenderness, and sym-
pathy that the patient soon saw that he was in the hands of a wise,
prudent, and considerate friend. He delighted in argument, and was
always prepared to maintain a thesis, and above all a paradox, with logic
which few could answer and wit which fewer could emulate. He seldom
failed to conquer, but perhaps, almost as rarely to convince. He was
eager to persuade, and hard to be persuaded. Though somew^hat impulsive,
his wit was such as "loves to play, not wound," and an antagonist left
him with increased esteem and respect.
In the year 1857 he was married to Miss Rhoda Georgiana Lathem,
whose ambition for his success was unexcelled in the history of the true
Southern women. No loftier type of honor ever blended than in this
marriage. Miss Mary Gordon Duffee's tribute to Mrs. Davis' memory
and devotion to her love is beautiful and true : "She was in her youthful
days ' divinely tall and most divinely fair,' with a modest timidity of man-
ner peculiarly becoming and graceful, and the kindest of hearts. Two
little boys were left her by the war that made them fatherless, and set the
chrism of perpetual heartache and regret upon her fair young brow. She
has watched and wept over their lives, and trained them up to the worthy
1 08 Jefferson CoiDity.
standard of their noble sire, until now they stand forth on the threshold
of a superb and useful manhood as physicians of Birmingham, alike
noted for their morality as for their talent and culture. Truly, she is a
widow indeed, rich in patience and resignation ; steadfast in the faith of
the saints, prayerful and strong in works of charity, like those few right-
eous ones who have kept their souls clear, ' and shall walk with him in
white.' "
On the 2ist of August, 1864, while commanding a company of a
battalion of sharpshooters of the Tenth Alabama Regiment in that bloody
battle on the Weldon Railroad, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
he was snatched from the din of battle and from the career of a Confed-
erate soldier to appear before the Great Physician and Officer beyond,
" Where the Great Physician heals.
Where the Heavenly armies sing."
Dr. Renfro says he was "a man of fine native mind, a well-informed
and accomplished physician and gentleman, a man of fine personal appear-
ance, a brave soldier, a competent and faithful, yet mild and affectionate
officer, and, above all, a meek and devout Christian. It was not aston-
ishing that he was the pride and idol of his company, that he was honored
by the regiment, and that he died leaving his praise in the mouths of all
who knew him."
Dr. Francis M. Marshall read medicine under Dr. Rufus Haywood,
of Tuscaloosa, in the year 1849; graduated from the University of
Louisiana in New Orleans in the year 1852 ; located at Trussville in 1852,
and did a good practice for twelve years with assiduity and success. In
the year i860 he moved to Hagood's Crossroads, where he continued
his practice for four or five years. Early after his removal to Hagood's
Crossroads his health began to give way, and he gave up the practice
of medicine. Since that time he has taught school when in a state of
health to allow. He is a natural poet, and his song on "The Lost Life,"
in stately verse, gives true evidence that in this poem he mastered the
" stately verse " as completely as did Byron. In the failure of his health
the people have lost a benefactor, and the profession a ray of genius which
would have reflected its light into remote ages. But the arm of
disease and family troubles have stretched their gigantic forms to blast
and darken a brilliant and prosperous career. His life has been one of
adventure and disaster, upon which volumes could be written. In all his
misfortunes and troubles he has held himself aloof from the corruption of
the world, and is untouched by the stain of dishonor. His health is much
Tlie Medical Profession. 109
improved, and it is to be hoped that he will yet be in a condition to reach
that acme of fame he so much desired.
Dr. G. T. Deason practiced at Elyton from 1859 to 1861, when he
joined the Confederate army. After the war he returned to Elyton and
practiced until his death, which was caused by small-pox.
Dr. Nathaniel Hawkins graduated from the University of New York
in the year 1846, and practiced at Elyton from 1847 to 1877, the year of
his death. He was a successful practitioner.
Dr. James E. Kent came to Jefferson County from Selma, Ala., in
the year 1874, and located at Oxmoor. He did a large country practice
for two years. He represented the county in the legislature two years.
He died in the year 1882 in Birmingham.
Dr. J. B. Vann graduated from the University of Louisiana at New
Orleans in the year i860. He practiced in Montevallo, Ala., about six
months, at Trussville about six months, and then located at Elyton, where
he practiced successfully for fifteen years, and had to retire to farm life
on account of bad health. In 1885 he came to Birmingham and went
into the undertaking business. He is now in the real estate business in
Birmingham.
Dr. Ralph Davis, a son of Dr. Daniel Davis, graduated from the
Medical College of Georgia in the year 1858, and practiced a few years
in Jefferson County, about fourteen miles south-west of Birmingham. He
is now doing a large and successful practice at Montevallo, Ala.
The first medical society organized in the county was formed in the
year 1865, with Dr. Joseph R. Smith President, and Dr. G. T. Deason
Secretary. In 1869 the Jefferson County Medical Society was organ-
ized under the old constitution, with Dr. F. M. Prince, of Jonesboro,
President, and Dr. R. N. Hawkins, now of Shelby County, Secretary.
The organization did but little more until the year 1873. It was revived
to active work during the cholera epidemic. The members of the society
did faithful and honorable service in the relief of suffering humanity in
Birmingham. The society records and transactions of the Medical Asso-
ciation of Alabama can show the true activity of this .society at the time.
I cannot pass this period in the history of the profession without making
honorable mention of the heroes who stood the test during the cholera
epidemic of 1873 in Birmingham. Some of these were Drs. J. B. Luckie,
J. VV. Sears, M. H. Jordan, and W. P. Taylor, deceased. The latter
mentioned gentleman, who worked in concert with his co-laborers in
that fearful scourge of 1873, died at his home in Birmingham in the year
1883. He was a man of remarkable culture, and of that polished gentle-
Jeffe7'Son County.
manly appearance and gallant bearing that won for him friends among
every class of people. The other three have been honored and exalted
by the people and profession from time to time. They still live to enjoy
the praises of an appreciative people.
Dr. Sears has been President of the Board of Medical Examiners of
Jefferson County for nearly ten years.
Dr. Luckie has been a member of said board, and filled the position
with dignity and impartiality. He represented the county in the State
Senate in 1881-82. While in the Senate he made no offensi%'e display of
learning; no dogmatic prejudices, pedantr}', or egotism ever deformed
his character. He developed no adventurous spirit, but, on the contrary,
that conservatism that would safely keep and justly administer what was
already achieved. It was mainly through his efforts that a bill was passed
through the legislature of Alabama authorizing Birmingham to issue bonds
for sewerage, and the present system of sewerage in Birmingham was
introduced by him. When representing the people he was just to
the country, just to himself, and just to his office. He was defeated
for the mayoralty in Birmingham in 1886 by Hon. A. O. Lane.
We feel that if he had been elected he would have treaded the walks
•of such a station with true judicial dignity, proving himself just and
honorable.
Dr. Jordan has filled every office in the Jefferson County Medical
Society, been a member of the State Board of Medical Examiners, and
was made president of the Medical Association of Alabama in 1883. He
has made many valuable contributions to medical literature. In October,
1886, he was elected to the Chair of Materia Medica in the Alabama
Medical College at Mobile, Ala. He has ever been an earnest man, with
an earnest work to do. He is a social favorite, and full of humor. To be
associated with him is to be pried up by his witticisms, be shocked with
laughter until your eyes are closed, sides split, and prayers offered for a
solid brace to prevent an explosion. He is a hard worker, and while
much of his time is spent in serving jokes in all kinds of dishes, with
them we see the foaming, sparkling crest of the ocean that carries upon
its bosom a magnificent cargo. He is a very entertaining man, and we
trust that as he goes from us to refresh and build up his feeble constitu-
ti onin the institution of medical learning in Mobile he will help mold and
shape the hearts and intellects of Alabama's medical students.
In the year 1873 Dr. J. W. Sears was elected President of Jefferson
County Medical Society, and Dr. M. H. Jordan Secretary. Dr. Sears
filled the chair of President until 1879, and Dr. Jordan remained Secretary
Tiie Medical Professiofi.
until the year 1878, when S. M. Gillespie, Ph. D., was elected to serve
until the year 1879.
In the year 1879 D""- ^^- P- Taylor was elected President and Dr.
W. H. Cook Secretary. This last election was under the new constitu-
tion of the Medical Association of Alabama. Dr. Taylor remained
President until the year 1881. Dr. Cook was Secretary one year, and
Dr. S. L. Ledbetter was elected for the year 1880.
In the year 1881 Dr. M. H. Jordan was made President and Dr.
Ledbetter reelected Secretary. Dr. Jordan remained President until
1883, when Dr. Henry N. Rosser was elected to the Presidency and Dr.
Ledbetter reelected Secretary.
In 1884 — Dr. H. P. Cochran, President; Dr. A. J. Douglass, Sec-
retary.
In 1885— Dr. J. C. Dozier, President; Dr. B. G. Copeland, Sec-
retary.
In 1886— Dr. Charles Whelan, President; Dr. E. P. Earle, Secretary.
In 1887— Dr. John D. S. Davis, President; Dr. R. L. Wyman,
Secretary.
THE ALABAMA SURGICAL AND GYNECOLOGICAL
ASSOCIATION.
The above Association was organized December 15, 1886, in Bir-
mingham.
In November, 1886, in the office of the Drs. Davis, Dr. Henry N.
Rosser and Drs. J, D. S. Davis and W. E. B. Davis, in consultation,
decided to organize an association to advance the science of Surgery and
Gynecology in Alabama and the South. These three gentlemen called a
meeting of a few of the physicians of Birmingham and Pratt Mines to
take the preliminary steps to organize such an association necessary to
advance these sciences. An enthusiastic meeting was held November 14,
1886, and a temporary organization was effected by the election of Dr.
H. N. Rosser, of Birmingham, Chairman, and Dr. W. E. B. Davis, of
Birmingham, Secretary. December 15, 1886, was the day appointed for
permanent organization. The association was organized and elected the
following officers, committees, and honorary members :
Drs, H. N. Rosser, of Birmingham, President ; C. Toxey, of Mobile,
First Vice-President ; Benjamin H. Riggs, of Selma, Second Vice-Presi-
dent; W. E. B. Davis, of Birmingham, Secretary; H. P. Cochran, of Bir-
mingham, Treasurer.
Jejferson Co?tnty.
Orator for the next annual convention, Benjamin J. Baldwin, of
Montgomery.
Judicial Council — J. D. S. Davis, Birmingham, for five years ; J. F.
Heustis, Mobile, for four years ; J. H. McCarty, Birmingham, for three
years ; R. D. Webb, Livingston, two years ; Benjamin H. Riggs. Selma,
one year.
Publication Committee — W. E. B. Davis, Birmingham ; Peter Bryce,
Tuscaloosa; Benjamin J. Baldwin, Montgomery.
Committee on Arrangements — J. B. Luckie, B, G. Copeland, E. H.
Sholl, of Birmingham.
Committee on Voluntary Essays — Peter Bryce, Tuscaloosa ; C.
Toxey, Mobile; W. Locke Chew, Birmingham; Benjamin H. Riggs,
Selma ; Frank Prince, Jonesboro.
Essayists for Next Convention — J. F. Heustis, Mobile; Charles
Whelan, Birmingham; John C. Parham, Gainesville; O. L. Shivers,
Marion ; J. R. Hoffman, Athens.
Committee to Obtain a Charter — Frank Prince, J. B. Luckie, C.
Toxey.
Honorary Members — Robert Battey, Rome, Ga. ; H. F. Campbell,
Augusta, Ga. ; W. F. Westmoreland, V. N. Taliaferro, Wm. Abram
Love, Atlanta, Ga.; W. T. Briggs, Duncan Eve, W. D. Haggard, Nash-
ville, Tenn.; D. W. Yandell, W. H. Wathen, Louisville, Ky.; Dr. Maury,
Memphis, Tenn.; J. F. Y. Payne, Galveston, Te.xas ; A. B. Miles, E. S.
Lewis, New Orleans, La.
The following letter to Drs. J. D. S. and W. E. B. Davis, editors
of The Alabama Medical and Surgical Journal, December, 1886, gives
good evidence of the thorough work being done by the profession in
Jefferson County :
" Editors Alabama Medical and Surgical Journal : When I
received the first number of your valuable journal last July, I predicted
for Alabama a new era in her medical literature. That prediction is
beginning to be realized. In the November issue of the Journal I see a
notice of the temporary organization of the Alabama Surgical and
Gynecological Association. Originating in the office of The Alabama
Medical and Surgical Journal, and supported by such surgeons and
gynecologists as Birmingham affords, means much for these sciences in
Alabama. It is apparent that these branches have long been neglected
in Alabama, and while our State Medical Association, from year to year,
gives us some valuable contributions to medical literature, very little is
said and done for the sciences of surgery and gynecology. No profession
The Medical Profcssioft. 113
in the Union is so well organized as Alabama's, and yet the medical
literature of Alabama is far in the rear. The founding of the Journal
for Alabama was the stepping-stone to her future attainments. Evidently
so, for, as a result of that move, we have the Surgical and Gynecological
Association. I congratulate the originators of this Association for invit-
ing only fifty of Alabama's doctors to become charter members. It is
too often the case that a new organization is stagnated by the too large-
ness of its membership. With the contemplated charter membership of
fifty plans can be perfected for a grand and glorious work for Alabama
doctors. I infer from your notice that the membership will not be
restricted to numbers, but to qualification, which, I think, is a display of
wisdom and policy. The selection made for the charter membership is as
good as possible to make it.
I feel honored and flattered to be remembered in the invitation
extended by the committee on membership. I am eager to see this work
pushed to success. I will be present at the permanent organization
December 15, 1 886, and you can count on me in every movement look-
ing to the elevation of the profession of Alabama.
Wishing your journal every success, and thanking you for your hon-
orable efforts to do something for the medical profession of Alabama, I
subscribe myself, A Friend to The Alabama Surgical and Gyneco-
logical Association."
Below is a list of the members of the profession in the county, with
their colleges, dates of graduation, offices filled by each, and post-office
addresses, who are members of the Jefferson County Medical Society:
Dr. Tillman Purifoy Burgamy, Jefferson Medical College, 1845, Bir-
mingham.
Dr. William Dudley Cooper, Jefferson Medical College, 1869, Bir-
mingham.
Dr. Hardin Perkins Cochrane, University of New York, 1874, Bir-
mingham. President Jefferson County Medical Society in 1884.
Dr. Benjamin Grigsby Copeland, Jefferson Medical College, 1883, Bir-
mingham. Secretary Jefferson County Medical Society in 1884 and 1885.
Dr. John Daniel Sinkler Davis, Georgia Medical College, 1879, Bir-
mingham. Member of the American Medical Association ; Censor in
St. Clair County in 1879 and 1880; one of the founders of the Alabama
Surgical and Gynecological Association ; one of the founders of The Ala-
bama Medical and Surgical Journal ; member of the Council of the Ala-
bama Surgical and Gynecological Association for 1887 to 1892 ; President
of Jefferson County Medical Society in 1887.
7
114 Jefferson County.
Dr. William Elias Brownlee Davis, Bellevue Hospital Medical Col-
lege, 1883, Birmingham. Member of the American Medical Associa-
tion ; one of the founders of the Alabama Surgical and Gynecological
Association ; one of the founders of the Alabama Medical and Surgical
Journal ; Secretary of the Alabama Surgical and Gynecological Asso-
ciation, and Chairman of its Publishing Committee for five years,
from 1887 to 1892 ; Treasurer of Jefferson County Medical Society
in 1886.
Dr. John Calhoun Dozier, University of Nashville, 1858, Birming-
ham. President of Jefferson County Medical Society in 1885 ; Health
Officer of Jefferson County in 1887.
Dr. Charles Drennen, Alabama Medical College, 1880, Birmingham.
Dr. Edward Pickens Earle, Medical College of South Carolina, 1880,
Birmingham. Secretary of Jefferson County Medical Society in 1886,
and Censor for 1887 and 1888.
Dr. Robert Smith Edwards, Georgia Medical College, 1871, Truss-
ville.
Dr. John Moore Hayes, Nashville Medical College, 1857, Pratt
Mines. State Physician.
Dr. Albert Thomas Henley, University of New York, 1869, Bir-
mingham. State Physician.
Dr. Brice Martin Hughes, University of Louisiana, 1S82, Birming-
ham. Censor from 1S82 to 1886.
Dr. Mortimer Harry Jordan, Miami Medical College, 1868, Birming-
ham. Secretary Jefferson County Medical Society in 1873 and 1874, and
President in 1882 and 1883 ; Censor in 1885 and 1886; Senior Counselor
in Alabama Medical Association ; member State Board of Censors in
1881 and 1882; President Alabama Medical Association in 1883.
Dr. Edward P. Lacy, Vanderbilt University, 1883, Wheeling.
Dr. Samuel Leonidas Ledbetter, University of Louisville, 1869, Bir-
mingham. Secretary of Jefferson County Medical Society for 1881, 1882,
and 1883.
Dr. James Buckner Luckie, University of Pennsylvania, 1853, Bir-
mingham. Health Officer for Jefferson County from 1881 to 18S4; Cen-
sor for 1885 and 1886.
Dr. Percy Bradford Lusk, University of Louisiana, 1883, Birming-
ham.
Dr. James Henry McCarty, Atlanta Medical College, 1880, Birming-
ham. Professor of Anatomy in the Atlanta Medical College in 1881 and
1882; Member of the Judicial Council of the Alabama Surgical and
The Medical Professio7i. 1 1 5
Gynecological Association ; Vice-President of Jefferson County Medical
Society in 1886.
Dr. John Mortimer Naff, Vanderbilt University, 1885, Pratt Mines.
Dr. Francis Marion Prince, Jefferson Medical College, 1849, Jones-
boro. President of Jefferson County Medical Society in 1869, and Vice-
President of the Alabama Medical Association in 1877 and 1878.
Dr. Thomas F. Robinson, Vanderbilt University, 1881, Jonesboro.
Dr. Henry N. Rosser, Atlanta Medical College, 1869, Birmingham.
President of Jefferson County Medical Society in 1883 ; one of the found-
ers of the Alabama Surgical and Gynecological Association, and made
its first President in 1887 ; Censor of Jefferson County Medical Society
from 1887 to 1890.
Dr. John William Sears, University of Pennsylvania, 1850, Birming-
ham. President of Jefferson County Medical Society in 1S79; Censor of
Jefferson County Medical Society for ten years, and Counselor of Ala-
bama Medical Association.
Dr. Wooster Ney Shoemaker, Columbus Medical College, 1878, Bir-
mingham. Treasurer of Jefferson County Medical Society for 1883, 1884,
and 1885.
Dr. Edward Henry Sholl, Pennsylvania Medical College, 1856, Bir-
mingham. -Orator for Alabama Medical Association for 1883 ; Counselor
in Alabama Medical Association, and Censor in Jefferson County Medical
Society from 1884 to 1887.
Dr. Henderson Stallwart Duncan, Vanderbilt University, 1880, Bir-
mingham.
Dr. Charles VVhelan, University of Louisiana, 1866, Birmingham.
President of Jefferson County Medical Society in 1886; Censor of the
Society of Jefferson for five years, and Counselor of the Alabama Medi-
cal Association.
Dr. Cunningham Wilson, University of Pennsylvania, 1884, Bir-
mingham.
Dr. B. L. Wyman, College of Physicians and Surgeons, N. Y. , 18 — ,
Birmingham. Secretary of Jefferson County Medical Society in 1887.
Dr. Henry Jasper Winn, University of Louisiana, 1858, Birming-
ham. Health Officer of Jefferson County in 1884 and 1885 ; now Post-
master of Birmingham.
Dr. Samuel Harvey Wooleston, University of Pennsylvania, 1880,
Birmingham.
Dr. Joseph B. Robinson, Vanderbilt University, 1882, Woodlawn.
1 1 6 Jefferson County.
REGULAR PHYSICIANS NOT MEMBERS OF JEFFERSON
COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY.
Dr. John Pattisoii Abercrombie, Alabama Medical College, 1880,
Cedar Grove.
Dr. Barwell Gideon Abernathy, College of Physicians and Surgeons,
Baltimore, 1879, Birmingham. Recently removed to Florida.
Dr. Jones Cadwallader Abernathy. University of Louisiana, 1859,
Birmingham. Surgeon in the Confederate Army.
Dr. Samuel W. Acton, Alabama Medical College, i860, Trussville.
Dr. James Madison Bevans, certificate of the Madison County
Board, 1871, Warrior.
Dr. Andrew Jackson Brewster, Alabama Medical College, 1880, Bir-
mingham.
Dr. George Washington Brown, Atlanta Medical College, 1877,
Pratt Mines.
Dr. Thomas Jefferson Brown, Vanderbilt University, 1885, Pratt
Mines.
Dr. Samuel Mardis Cross, Georgia Medical College, i860. Wood-
lawn.
Dr. Andrew Jackson Crow, Atlanta Medical College, 1868, Warrior.
Dr. Russell McWhorter Cunningham, Bellevue Hospital Medical
College, 1879, Pratt Mines.
Dr. Gideon Wesley Ellis, certificate Elyton Botanical Association,
1872, Morris.
Dr. Albert Gallatin Douglass, Vanderbilt University, 1881, Birming-
ham.
Dr. A. C. Pidwards, , Birmingham.
Dr. Ezeva Foster, certificate County Board, 1880, Toadvine.
Dr. Robert Smith Green, Alabama Medical College, i860. New
Castle.
Dr. F. P. Lewis, , Coalburg.
Dr. John P. Gillespie, Miami Medical College, 1883, Birmingham.
Dr. Robert Julius Mathews, Georgia Medical College, 18 — , Warrior.
Dr. J. W. McClendon, , Irondale.
Dr. D. D. Oates, University of Pennsylvania, i860, Leeds.
Dr. William Felix Posey, Alabama Medical College, 185 1, Mt.
Pinson.
Dr. Milton Rag.sdale, Medical College of Atlanta, 18—, McCalla.
The Medical Profession. 1 1 7
Dr. Martin Roberts, certificate County Board, 1878, Hagood's Cross-
roads.
Dr. J. J. Duncan, Kentucky School of Medicine, 1886, Birmingham.
IRREGULAR PRACTITIONERS IN THE COUNTY.
Dr. Albert E. Meadows (homeopathist), Hahnemann Medical College,
1883, Warrior.
Dr. Julius J. Faber (homeopathist), Homeopathic Hospital Medical
College, 1884, Birmingham.
Dr. A. L. Monroe (homeopathist), now in Louisville, Ky. Practiced
in the county during the years 1883 and 1884.
PHYSICIANS WHO HAVE RETIRED FROM PRACTICE.
W. A. Cook, University of Louisiana. Removed to Atlanta, Ga.
T. D. Nabors. Now in the drug business in Birmingham.
George W. Morrow, Miami Medical College, Ohio, 1868. Now in
the drug business in Birmingham.
J. W. Maddox.
M. S. Sykes, University of Louisiana, 18 — . Removed from the
State.
T. W. Garner, Vanderbilt Medical College, 1880. Removed to St.
Clair County.
James Bird Vann, University of Louisiana, i860. Now in the real
estate business.
DECEASED PHYSICIANS.
Arthur R. Jones, Miami Medical College, Jonesboro. Dr. Jones
died in the year 1883 while on his knees reading a mock prayer. He was
■a man of culture, and had every advantage to train his mind in several
of the sciences. During his college course his mind took a strange line
of skepticism, which resulted in making him an infidel. He did much to
influence his friends and associates to follow in his footprints and accept
his theories, but with little success. His name has been flashed to every
civilized land on account of the memorable circumstances surrounding
his last moments. I can but paint his life as one of night, his death of
night, his future of night. What a solemn thing is night in the wilder-
ness of skepticism ! Night among the mountains of temptation ! Night
I I S Jefferson Cotinty.
on the sea of learning ! Frightful night among tropical groves ! Flash-
ing, fearful night amid Arctic severities ! No calm night on Roman Cam-
pagna! No glorious night 'mid sea after a tempest! Oh, thou blind
mariner, with so many beaming, burning, flaming, glorious truths to
guide you, you failed, I fear, to find your way into the harbor.
Dr. Joseph M. Burton, Nashville Medical College, 1877. Died near
Birmingham in the year 1S84. He had done a successful practice in the
county for several years.
Dr. H. P. Heard, graduate of the Georgia Medical College at Augusta,
1857. Practiced one year in Birmingham, and died of angina pectoris.
THE ALABAMA MEDICAL AND SURGICAL JOURNAL.
The profession of Jefferson County has ever shown a spirit of progress,
and it has given to Alabama the first and only medical and surgical jour-
nal. Its editors are Drs. J. D. S. Davis and W. E. B. Davis. We mod-
estly refer to the following extracts on the journal :
The Alabama Medical and Surgical Journal. — This is just such
a journal as we should expect from a land hallowed by the footsteps of J.
Marion Sims. It is essentially different from any other journal on our table.
There are forty-six pages of original communications, embracing such
articles as "Pelvic Inflammations," "A Case of Meniere's Disease,"
"The Immediate Restoration of Parts to their Normal Position after
Tenotomy," "Boric Acid," "Spontaneous Rupture of a Large Multiloc-
ular Ovarian Cyst," "A Case of Opium Poisoning," "Simultaneous
Double Primary Amputation Complicated with other Injuries, " " Destruc-
tion of an Eye by Calomel." Each of these articles is ably presented,
and there is a tendency throughout to simplicity in style. The good old
Anglo-Saxon words are used far more plentifully than we find them used
in any of the Northern journals. Of course, this is an element of vigor.
It is a comfort to read articles in which the writer is telling facts with as
little fuss as possible.
We find a page and a half devoted to original translations, and eight
pages to society proceedings.
In the salutatory a fine tribute is paid to literature, and afterward the
importance of medical literature is pointed out.
The editorial department has the following under " Criminal Abor-
tion:" "The low muttering thunders of destruction and roaming blizzard
of the birth-strangled babe have just swept over our sister city, Atlanta,
and now begin to disturb the gentle zephyrs of the Magic City. It is
The Medical Profession. 119
rumored that a lady (?) of Birmingham, who contemplates marriage at an
early date, had an abortion committed on her about the 20th of May.
The infamous scoundrel and she devil who are guilty of this heinous crime
will be remembered and watched. They have been cunning and sly, but
our promise for it, if they are not careful, law and public sentiment
enough will yet be stirred up to get a verdict of guilty. May something
be done to eradicate this wholesale slaughter of the helpless!" Amen
and Amen.
Here is the very place where the chivalry of the South and North
can unite and work for a grand good. This journal is good in its youth ;
it will be grand in its old age. — Denver Medical Journal,
The Alabam.\ Medical and Surgical Journal. — Filled with pro-
fessional patriotism and State pride, Messrs. Davis undertook to supply
the State of Alabama with a first- class periodical, devoted to the interests
of the medical profession of that State. The effort has been successful
beyond the average ; it has the real stamp of enterprise and editorial
ability.
One of the leading features of interest may be found in the depart-
ment of diseases of the eye, conducted by Ben. J. Baldwin, M. D., of
Montgomery. Dr. Baldwin is an accomplished physician and a graceful
writer.
The Alabama Journal came into existence at the same time Progress
made its first appearance. We submit it to the profession that Progress and
the Alabama Journal have already attained a growth and development
amply sufficient to establish their claims to a perpetual existence. —
Progress, of Louisville, Ky.
1 1 III
1
1
1
1 1 1
1
BIRMINGHAM.
Q^aVly Ra(lyo^A Bo<l^<n|-
PROSPERITY IN THE OLD ERl-THE FIRST RSILROSD-THE
RftILRO]\D as M EMfiNCIPfiTOR-EXPLORING
FOR MINERALS,
CHAPTER VI.
Universal prosperity and content prevailed in Alabama in the decade
of 1850-60, No recognized premonition of the great revolution disturbed
the supreme confidence of the whole people in the virtue and stability of
their industrial and social organization. In this decade the value of real
and personal property in the State increased 1 17.01 per centum. Bank
deposits were fourfold at the end as compared with the beginning of the
period : one hundred and thirty-seven miles of railroad, at the beginning,
had increased to nearly eight hundred ; the river traffic had increased
greatly ; agriculture had increased its products near threefold ; there had
been an addition of 24.96 per centum of population.
David Hubbard, a cotton planter of the Valley of the Tennessee, had
read of the new method of transportation, a short line of railroad, just
built in the interior of Pennsylvania as an experiment. He went expressly
to see it, with the purpose of determining its availability to overcome the
Early Railroad Building.
obstruction to freight traffic on the Tennessee River, caused by the Mussel
Shoals. As a result of his investigation the legislature of Alabama was
applied to, in 1830, to grant a charter to a line of railroad running from a
point opposite the town of Florence, where the new iron manufacturing
town of Sheffield now is, to Tuscumbia, two miles southwardly from the
river. This point is the lower terminus of the Mussel Shoals. Cars were
placed upon the road drawn by mules. Two years later, in 1832, the
Tuscumbia, Courtland & Decatur Railroad was chartered to make a line
forty-six miles, running along the west side of the river and terminating
at Decatur, the upper terminus of the Shoals. Benjamin Sherrod, a cot-
ton planter of great wealth, was made president of a company of cotton
planters who undertook to build one of the principal railroads of the Union
at that day. The grades were light, and the roadbed was completed inside
of the estimated cost of $5,000 per mile. But the cost of equipment, even
with bar iron placed on parallel wooden stringers, proved very burdensome
to an agricultural population. The president found it necessary to support
the fortunes of the road by his individual endorsement of its obligations.
He lost a large part of his fortune as the penalty exacted of his generosity.
The cars along the whole line were for many months propelled by mules.
This, the earliest of the railroads of Alabama, is now a part of the line
of the Memphis & Charleston.
The Tuscumbia, Courtland & Decatur Railroad was built in the
interest of the cotton-planting industry of that magnificent part of the
Valley of the Tennessee traversed by it. Now there is a railroad just
completed running southward from Sheffield, the spot where the original
short line initiated, into the iron-ore beds and coal seams, some forty miles
distant. Had these mineral resources been reached in 1832 by railroad,
their unparalleled richness and the ease of their development, taken in
connection with the wealth of the Southern Valley of the Mississippi at
that period, would have created conditions which, apparently, must have
located on the Tennessee, rather than later at Pittsburg, the iron manu-
facturing center of the United States. The Valley of the Tennessee
would, in that event, have now been to the iron manufactories of Alabama
as the agricultural counties of York and Lancaster are to those of
Pennsylvania. Had this other direction been given to the railroad of
the Sherrods, Hubbards, Deshlers, and the cotton planters of the Valley,
into what other channel must that determining force have carried the
industrial and political history of Alabama! At the period of the
initiating of this first railroad in the Valley of the Tennessee, the indus-
trial revolution originated by the cotton gin had begun to overturn the
Jefferson Cozmty.
emancipation sympathies fixed in the South, by the well-known views on
slavery held by Jefferson and practiced by John Randolph, of Roanoke.
Had iron manufacture by free labor been safely established in 1832 in the
center of the South- Western Cotton States upon the bank of the Tennessee
in Alabama, to be supported by the unparalleled resources of the Alabama
mineral region, it would have been wholly within the probabilities of
cause and effect that the " irrepressible conflict between free labor and
slave" of i860 must have been anticipated by thirty years. Instead of
developing itself as a sectional issue, as in i860, it must have matured as
a local issue. The mutually supporting industries of the mines and of the
cotton fields of the same State and the same section must have been
reconciled by the influence of the railroad.
The presence of iron ores in Jefferson County had been known to
capitalists in Alabama for many years prior to i860, but it was only in
the decade from 1850 to i860 that organized effort was made looking
toward railway connection with them. The six-horse stage line, carrying
the mail and travel from Montgomery via Elyton, the county seat of
Jefferson, to Huntsville, passed over Red Mountain, and the iron ties of
the wheels and the iron shoes of the coach horses had aided the farm
wagons and cattle's feet to crush the surface ore of the roadbed for miles,
exposing its dazzling red dust to view, but seldom exciting a serious
inquiry respecting the import of a long neglect.
It is strange nobody thought of running a railway out from the
Tennessee, opposite the old town, Florence, where Sheffield now is,
toward Russellville, to get coal, at least known to be there, which railway
need not have been over thirty-five or forty miles long.
Early Railroad Building.
5f?e )N(ortt7-Ea5t9SoiJtl7-U/e5t l^ailroad.
V
Michael Tuomey — The Revelations of Geology-
Two Great Railroads — The Elyton Convention —
Dr. Garland First President — Robert Emmet Rodes —
Land Grants — A Beautiful Country — Commissioner Anderson.
Two lines of railroad — first the North-East & South-West (now the
Alabama Great Southern) and the Alabama Central (now the South &
North) — had been projected to penetrate the mineral region in 1850-60.
A general interest throughout the State had now manifested itself in
railroad building, and especially in those lines which promised to open to
enterprise the mineral wealth believed to exist in this section of the State.
It is true very vague and indefinite ideas prevailed everywhere respecting
the proportion, or the commercial value, of the Coal Measures or iron-
ore deposits. Professor Michael Tuomey was one of the early disciples of
Lyell, and one of the most enthusiastic devotees of the science of
geology, at the early period of its history when Southern universities
made small provision for the study of its peculiar attractions and singular
practical importance in Southern fields and forests, prairies and mount-
ains. Mr. Tuomey held a professorship in the University of the State at
Tuscaloosa. He had succeeded in impressing the legislature with his own
belief that the mountain counties abounded in mineral wealth. As early
as 1834 coal had been mined near Tuscaloosa. From 1850 to i860 a
considerable trade in coal had been established at points along the
upper Warrior River above Tuscaloosa, and Demopolis, a town at the
junction of the Bigbee and Warrior Rivers, and Mobile. The bed of
the river in certain localities above the falls runs through a seam of
coal, and the mineral may be dumped from the excavations on the
banks into barges on the water below. It was perilous navigation to
\
124 Jefferson Comity.
carry barges laden with coal through the rugged, tortuous, and rapid
channel over the falls of the Warrior. It could only be attempted in
seasons of high water. The boats must be steered by poles, and none
other but a steady hand, brave heart, and thoroughly familiar knowledge
of the course could hope to carry them over in safety. The barges were
always sold along with their cargoes.
Professor Tuomey was encouraged by a small appropriation by the
legislature, a few hundred dollars only, to spend the months of his
summer vacation in verifying his faith in the mineral wealth of the
Alabama mountains. The high price of slaves was then operating to
concentrate the limited supply of this kind of labor in the hands of the
already richly-provided planters. As plantations grew larger in the hands
of a gradually-reduced number of planters, the profits of merchants,
lawyers, and doctors sought the banks. The presence of this cash capital,
which could not find investment in negro labor, already too high as com-
pared with the price of cotton, suggested the further investigation into
the mineral wealth of the mountains.
Toward the middle of the decade 1850-60 the Alabama & Tennessee
Rivers Railroad was chartered and the construction begun. The southern
terminus was Selma, and the northern some point on the Tennessee River,
north-east of Selma, the road to pass through the coal seams near Monte-
vallo. The road had been built beyond these mines as far as Oxford,
Calhoun County, in i860, and the product of the mines had then entered
the Mobile market to so great an extent as to materially interfere with
Pennsylvania and English coals hitherto relied upon. This road remained
incomplete until some years after the war, when it was carried forward
into Georgia, and now forms an important line of the Virginia, East
Tennessee & Georgia system.
In the summer of 1854 there assembled at Elyton, the county-seat
of Jefferson, a mass-meeting to consider the building of the North-East
and South-West Railroad to connect Chattanooga with the Mobile & Ohio
Railroad at a point near Meridian. Colonel William S. Ernest, a citizen of
Jefferson County, was very active in the initial steps to call this conven-
tion. When the day of assemblage arrived he had succeeded in preparing
a grand subscription barbecue, under the noble old oaks of the village, for
the feasting of the visitors and the multitude. A barbecue is a form of
feast peculiar to the South-West. The meats — fresh beef, veal, pork,
mutton, and poultry, are baked by being laid on poles stretched across
shallow pits, under the shade of the trees, in which very hot coals are
kept. Constant turning and seasoning with vinegar and condiments
Early Railroad Ihiilding. 125
during the process of baking result in giving to them a delicious fia\or in
no other manner attainable.
The meeting at Elyton was attended by capitalists from different
parts of the State. It was a success. The scheme to introduce the
project to the public was well laid. Canvassers were sent out to obtain
subscriptions, and in a short time the grading of the track had begun.
Dr. Garland, occupying a chair in the University faculty, was made
President of the railroad company. Labor, available for the grading of
the road, was almost exclusively negro slave. There was an abundance
of labor settled among the mountains, but it was of the white proprietary
class of small farmers who tilled their own fields. This was a most
peculiar class of people. With no definition of their status could their
native pride be more rudely assailed than in an insinuation that they were
laborers. They were ivliite men, and negro slaves were " laborers." They
owned their land, owned the " critter" which drew the plow in the week
and carried the "old lady" and a couple of the younger scions of the
race, astride withers and croup, to "meeting" on Sunday. The fact that
the males of the family held the plow handles, split the rails, and kept
up the farm, while the females cooked, took out the weekly wash to their
own tubs at the spring at the foot of the hill, and indulged in like domestic
habits, was merely a personal arrangement which any white family, the
"equal" of all other white families, might enter upon at will, or abstain
from, as circumstances favored one or another family custom. These
white men had been held at arm's length from the blessings of wage-paid
labor by the institution of slavery. There was no place for them in the
economy of the cotton plantation. The negro was not only physically
the more robust man and more capable plowman, ditcher, rail-splitter,
and the like, but he was a machine in effect, and his prolific race qualities
were features of value in commerce. There was no labor on the face of
the earth to surpass or even, we venture to believe, to equal the slaves of
the old plantation. They were bred to labor, fed to labor, trained to
labor in that degree which reduced every individual to his place in the
farm methods and economy, and whoever, not familiar with the practical
operations of the old plantation, might, in this later time of emancipation
and reform, imagine that the negro slave was a degraded man, without
ambition, without energy, without zeal, born of a soul-kindling manhood,
stands with conceptions apart from facts. The negro became, under the
tutelage of the plantation, a plowman without a rival. As valet, cook,
barber, as the divinity of the family nursery, as fast friend to his owner,
or his owner's friend, in sickness and in health, in peace or in war, there
1 26 Jefferson Comity.
was never'safer, truer, or better friend than this black man. We wait
upon the vicissitudes of fortune through many generations, we of the free
white race, for that disciph'ne in labor, and fidelity to our parts in our life
work, which the methods of the plantation gave to the negro sla\e, and
speedily brought forth from his crude nature a well-perfected man to fill
not a low place only, but a high place as well.
We say the negro of the lowland plantations along the line of the
projected North-East & South-West Railroad had kept the white labor of
the mountain country away from the patronage, the training, and the
blessings of wages. Thus when the time came that capital had been
augmented by the profits of the plantations, and had begun to overflow
the plantation borders and methods, it could not find the surplus negro
labor it needed for its own employment.
When the planters along the line of the projected railroad were
appealed to in their homes by the canvassers sent out from the Elyton
meeting to subscribe to its stock, they oftentimes subscribed the ascer-
tained value of a fixed amount of grading to be done by their own
plantation slaves and took stock to cover it. The work was contracted
for in such proportions as the subscriber-planter might consider con\ enient
to be executed by his able-bodied men in spare time, now and then, from
the crops at any period of the year. While some planters may have
given more regular labor than this to their contracts, the general habit
was as is here indicated, and slave labor alone was used.
The outbreak of the war of 1S61-65 resolved all other enterprises
in Alabama into war measures. The railroad could not be completed
then. The slaves were called home to make corn and pork for the army.
The railroad abided the coming of peace; and when the season again
returned for the restoration of the work of construction, the slave had
become free, and the tide of prosperity, destined to feed the railroad,
had been turned from the plantation of the valle)' to the region of the
mountains.
Robert Emmet Rodes
Was a native of Lynchburg, Va., and a graduate of the \'irginia Military
Institute, with high standing in his class. He chose the profession of
civil engineering, and after several years of experience gained in other
States, came to Alabama to be made Chief Engineer of the North East
and South- West. Making his headquarters in Tuscaloosa he married
the acknowledged belle of the aristocratic societ}- of that University
town. Miss Virginia Woodruff.
Early Railroad Building. 127
The war opened and quickly absorbed the young engineer. The
man and the occasion had met. The mihtary record of Major-General
Rodes is one of the brightest pages of the history of the grandest and
most awe-inspiring of modern wars. He loved his country, and war was
his element of delight and glory. He neglected nothing, not even the
smallest details which go to create, in the aggregate, the perfect soldier.
Routine duty as a task to be half done, or done only as far as necessary,
was not in Rodes' ideal. His chin was as close shaven in camp as in the
parlor ; his moustache and hair as well dressed ; his spurs and their
"bells" were always burnished bright; his horse perfectly groomed.
Was this the holiday soldier ? Was this a martinet? Ah! When in
the thickest of the last of his many great battles he fell dead in front of
his advancing lines, those near by concealed from his followers knowledge
of the fate of their young leader until the charge should be ended. That
night many of the wounded of his command had been gathered into a large
warehouse in Winchester, Va., near the battlefield. None had suspected
the fate of their great leader. Darkness impenetrable and the groans
of the dying prevailed. Presently another ambulance train sent in to
the improvised hospital its fresh consignment. These brought the news
that "General Rodes had been shot through the head, dead, on the
battlefield." In an instant every voice was silent; in an instant hundreds
of voices cried out in sobs of mourning that General Rodes was dead !
and long into the night, amid such a scene of unutterable physical suffer-
ing as beggars description, the cries of strong men, helpless, resounded
in this old warehouse bewailing in anguish the light of many battlefields
which had gone out forever.
General Rodes was born a soldier. His attitude, his voice, the
significance of his yea or nay, were the impersonation of authority, zeal,
and courage. Purpose was eloquently expressed in his bearing, and no
troops could resist his persuasions.
Land Grants.
The North-East & South-West and Wills Valley system of railroads
existed on paper when the war ended. J. C. Stanton, a bold and
energetic man from Boston, came to its relief at this juncture. He was
quick to see the ultimate advantages of a line running for many miles
parallel with Red Mountain and coal fields which must be considered a
connecting link, on almost an air line, between the mountain of ores with
Cincinnati on one side and New Orleans on the other. The Western
128 Jefferson County.
markets for Alabama iron and inevitably the South American coal and
iron trade would sooner or later be supplied from Alabama through the
ports of New Orleans and Mobile. This road runs upon the dividing line
between the Warrior and Cahaba Coal Fields. It bisects an agricultural
country of unsurpassed advantages. These lands are very valuable. It
is easier to make a substantial and pleasant home on them than,
perhaps, on any of the average lands of the United States. The first
consideration to a farmer in selecting a home is healthfulness of location.
After this, productiveness of soil, availability of labor, and accessibilit}' of
produce to market. Here the altitude is sufficient to secure equability of
temperature in the summer season, and not sufficient to allow severe cold
in winter. The nights are refreshing after the longest summer days ; the
heat is never overpowering, and sunstroke is unknown. Years come
and go without any snow, and occasional snow-storms never cover the
ground longer than two or three days, nor at greater depth than two or
three inches. The soil is a sandy loam, naturally drained by ceaseless,
gentle undulation. There are ever-recurring springs of the clearest and
purest water, cool in the heat of summer, light on the lips, and delightful
to drink. The springs form branches which afford live stock an abund-
ance of water. The boundless forest commons make excellent ranges
for cattle, sheep, and hogs from April to December. Beech, hickory,
white oak, post oak, and red oak mass keep hogs fat in midst of winter.
Deer, foxes, squirrels, and opossums are plentiful to hunt. The fertility
of the soil and the equability of the climate conspire to promote a
magnificent agriculture, rich in almost limitless variety.
The wild clover and grasses grow in the forest a foot high, and the
forest trees are numerous in kind and stately in size. These are indica-
tions of what we may expect from the cultivated crops and prove what
will be their response to the skill of the farmer. Red clover in summer
grows two to three feet high ; vetch, three feet high in winter ; yellow and
white clover cover the ground in mid-winter ; turnips and onions with
green tops all winter in the fields ; wheat is seeded as late as December ;
January is the favorite season for seeding spring oats ; green (English) peas
are sowed in January and February ; there are hardly two consecutive
days in winter when storms would interfere with the grazing of live stock
upon rye, barley, or clover pastures ; the climate has been tested for ensi-
lage and proved itself favorable ; strawberries, raspberries, blackberries,
many varieties of early and late peaches, pears, nectarines, quinces, and
pomegranates grow to perfection ; the apple can nowhere in the United
States be surpassed, if equaled, as we find it on these lands. All kinds of
Early Railroad B7nlding. 1 29
garden vegetables grow to the highest known perfection. We can safely
estimate the practical farmer's returns in staple crops as follows : Wheat,
fifteen to twenty bushels, with soil capacity for forty bushels ; corn,
twenty to thirty bushels, with soil capacity for sixty to seventy-five
bushels ; potatoes, three hundred and turnips three hundred bushels per
acre; oats, beets, carrots, millet, clover, and various other grasses maybe
estimated from the figures we cite, and which we pronounce wholly
within the realization possible.
A beautiful, picturesque landscape ; a full twelve months of crop
growing and crop harvesting (for there is practically no cessation of either
should the farmer's enterprise cover the variety permitted by soil and
climate for his crops) ; a surface highly favorable to good wagon roads ;
Chattanooga, Birmingham, Meridian, Vicksburg, all growing markets, and
the entire world around in reach ; labor attainable without extraordinary
difificulties ; an economical State government in Alabama, enlightened,
and founded on universal suffrage, with constant tendency toward reduc-
tion of taxation, constant progress in the scope and significance of free
public education — these are prominent among the recommendations to
settlement and the establishment of domiciliary interests offered by the
territory along the line of the Alabama Great Southern Railroad.
Mr. Stanton changed the original name of his road to the "Alabama
& Chattanooga." Under this nam^ it was completed from Chattanooga
to a point on the Mobile & Ohi>y Road, near Meridian, Mississippi, a
distance of two hundred and ninety-five miles, about the year 1870.
There are forty-eight stations, including the termini.
The lands in Alabama, of which we particularly speak now as the
property of the Alabama Great Southern, were granted by the United
States to the road. They comprise about 600,000 acres and lie in the
counties of DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall, Etowah, Blount, St. Clair, Jeffer-
son, Shelby, Tuscaloosa, Bibb, Greene, Hale, Sumter, and Choctaw.
Some of these are mineral lands, but have not been geologically surveyed
to fix the value or extent of their mineral deposits. Timber abounds on
all, and much of it is merchantable.
Passing beyond Alabama we find the Queen and Crescent s}'stem of
railroads, of which the Alabama Great Southern is a part, extends from
Cincinnati, southward, to include the Vicksburg & Meridian, and the
Vicksburg & Shreveport. This system controls upward of 3,000,000
acres of land, the great bulk being agricultural. They lie in alter-
nate sections of one mile square (640 acres) fifteen miles on each
side of the line. This princely domain commences at the dividing line
Jefferson Coimty.
between the States of Georgia and Alabama, and terminates with the
dividing line between Louisiana and Texas. The great variety of soils
contained by it and the situation it maintains, in the heart of the civiliza-
tion of the country, give it rare value.
Frank Y. Anderson, who is Land Commissioner of this great land
system, resides in Birmingham, where the headquarters of the Land
Department are located. Mr. Anderson is a Marylander by birth, his
ancestors being of English extraction. He was born in 1847, and reared
and educated in Washington, District of Columbia. At the age of twenty-
three he graduated from the law department of Columbia College, and at
once entered upon the practice of his profession in Washington. Two
years later he removed to Mobile, and gave his attention to the division of
the practice respecting lands. After eight years in Mobile he came to
Birmingham. As an efficient agent and manager of great corporate
interests, Mr. Anderson ranks high. The land he controls is wholly
owned by English capitalists, who can know their agent only by the worthy
manner in which he discharges his trust.
Mr. Anderson is happily established in the societj* of Birmingham,
not alone by virtue of his own intelligence and public spirit, but by the
long-fixed influence of his wife's family in Alabama. Mrs. Anderson is a
daughter of B. F. Paine, of DeKalb County, and descended from the
Winston family, so distinguished in wealth and political honors in the
State.
'6\)^ /Alabama Qeptral.
Governor Moore and State Aid — John T. Milner — A Great Work
of Engineering — The Gulf Commerce —
Cullman Colony.
The line of railroad now known as the North and South Division of
the Louisville & Nashville system was originally projected as the Ala-
bama Central. The legislature appropriated, at its session in the winter
of 1858, ^10,000 for making a reconnoissance for a route for a railroad
from the Tennessee River to some point on the Alabama & Tennessee
Early Railroad Building. 131
Rivers Railroad, and to make a thorough survey of the most practicable
route to connect the Tennessee River with the navigable waters of the
Mobile Bay with reference to the development of the mineral regions of
the State. The original conception, it will be seen, did not make Mont-
gomery, but "some point on the Alabama & Tennessee Rivers Rail-
road," now the Selma, Rome & Dalton, the southern terminus. The
original plan was to connect the Tennessee River in Alabama with the
Alabama River by the shortest and most available route consistent with
the proper development of the mineral resources of the State.
The Governor wisely appointed John T. Milner, Chief Engineer, to
make a survey and to report to him respecting the cost of the projected
■road, the character of the country to be traversed, the value of the min-
erals to be reached by the road, and the general recommendations of the
public policy of the enterprise.
John T. Milner became, from that time until now, a conspicuous
character in the industrial revolution in Alabama. He has been emphat-
ically a leader in the new path which leads to that greatness of develop-
ment so plainly now in view. Mr. Milner studied nearly four years at the
University of Georgia, and is a native of that State. He had pursued the
profession of civil engineering in various parts of the Union, even as far
as Oregon. His judgment had been ripened, and his faculty of observa-
lion quickened by long and wide acquaintance with countries and with
men. So varied had been his experiences he had even rolled a wheel-
barrow and worked for years with a pick and shovel in a California gold
mine.
When Governor Moore selected him to locate a line for the new
railroad, there was a condition annexed, as we have said, that the engineer
should report to the Governor his impressions, received from observation
of the country he was to explore, respecting its capacity to support a
railroad, when built.
Mr. Milner wrote to the Governor, on sending in his report, Novem-
ber 1st, 1858, " It was my first duty to ascertain where the mineral region
of the State lay. In this I was guided mainly by the valuable and
reliable report of the late Professor Tuomey, State Geologist."
The engineer recommended that Decatur, on the Tennessee, be
•selected for the northern terminus, and that some point near Montevallo
be made the southern terminus of the line of the Central Railroad.
Finally the intersection with the Alabama & Tennessee Rivers Road
was made at a point in the woods seven miles east of Montevallo, as a
legislative compromise between Selma and Montgomery, it being precisely
132 Jefferson County.
the same distance to either city from Calera. At the crossing a village
sprung up, called Calera. Calera now justly entertains aspirations toward
the mission of a city. Streets have been laid off by a land company ; a
good hotel has been built ; the most extensive manufactory of lime in the
State is there, and a company has been organized to build a blast furnace.
But the engineer explained that his selection of "some point near
Montevallo" for the southern terminus of the survey ordered by the
Governor had an ulterior as well as a present motive. He thought the
point thus selected would be " easily accessible by railroad from Mont-
gomery, and from South-East Alabama, and also from Mobile, via Jackson,
Uniontown, Marion, and Centreville."
The line has been extended, as we have seen, in a straight line from
Calera, "near Montevallo," to Montgomery. The line "from Mobile,
via Jackson, Uniontown," etc., is now being built, and the line from East
Alabama will soon be under contract. " Examine the map of Alabama
herewith submitted, and the projects thereon indicated, and these facts will
become evident," wrote the engineer. Birmingham then had no place on
this map. The general views of the engineer were accepted by the
Governor. Now, all roads in Alabama lead to Birmingham, and roads of
other States seek connection at the " Magic City" with the original Ala-
bama Central.
Engineer Milner stated in his report to Governor Moore, when his
laborious and painstaking surveys had been completed, that he had been
successful in obtaining a line for the Alabama Central which would com-
pare favorably "in cost, grades, alignments, and everything else with the
railroads in the neighboring States, and is far better in these respects than
any other route across the Alleghany Mountains, except, perhaps, the
Georgia State Road." He considered the long season of doubt and per-
plexity, which for forty years had embarrassed and confused the desires of
the people to build the road, finally settled. The cost would be moderate,
say 823,000 in round numbers per mile; the air line would be one hun-
dred and four miles and the surveyed line was only one hundred and
twenty-one miles. The difference, per cent., of variation from the airline
in the Georgia State Road was more than double the variation in the
Central Alabama. Having offered convincing proof of the practicability
of the road, at moderate cost, he proceeded to demonstrate its great
importance.
When the engineer set out in obedience to the instructions of the
Governor "to locate the mineral regions of the State," which might be
penetrated most profitably by a line of railroad, he successfully accom-
Early Railroad Lhiildmg. 133
plished a great work, the importance of which cannot be described. He
began to do that which has, at last, unlocked the greatest mineral wealth
of the world, contained in any connected area. A man small in stature,
taciturn, as strong men of action usually are, quiet and well bred in
manner, and more ready to hear than deliver opinions. Southern born and
educated, possessed of the instincts of the Southern gentleman in his walk
among men — this is the man who, near thirty years ago, came into the
wilderness of Alabama, far from the trails of commerce, to go back to the
State capital to speak the portentious words to the Governor: " We are
now at the beginning of the development of gigantic National resources."
He wanted the Governor to press forward the action of the legislature in
the project to aid the Central Railroad. "The ports of the Gulf of
Mexico are destined soon to be the recipients of the richest commerce
the world ever saw. Even now one half of the exports of the United
States pass over this inland sea of ours." These eloquent words of states-
manship found utterance before their time. In 1858 Alabama was more
busily engaged in discussing "the rights of the South in the Territories,"
than in the line of Mr. Milner's explorations. The predominant prosper-
ity, great as it was, and benign in its influences, did not see that it was
not self-poised or self-sufficient. Slavery had even then passed the "dead
line." The battle waged for its perpetuation, with gunpowder as the
arbitrament, came as the inevitable.
The pioneers of the new industrial life of the State, the civil engineers,
whose weapons were compass and chain, had indeed decided the problem
of slavery by preparing the way for its most insatiable enemy, the manu-
facture of iron by free labor. "We are now in the beginning of the
development of gigantic National resources," Milner warned Alabama;
so gigantic indeed, that the disclosed power to reverse- the seat of National
influence, to bring it South from the North, to make of "the ports of the
Gulf of Mexico the recipients of the richest commerce the world ever saw. ' '
Tiiirty years ago Engineer MUner — the young Southerner, silent,
meditative, and enthusiastic, told the Governor of Alabama, for publication
to the world, "we can safely say that coal can be delivered by the Central
and connecting roads at Mobile and Pensacola, at from five to six dollars
per ton." This high price for coal stood as an argument in 1858 in favor
of railroad connection with the mineral region. We find the Mobile
Register of September 1st, i860, announcing that Alabama (Montevallo)
coals, even at eight to twelve dollars per ton, were fast driving out
Pennsylvania coal from that market and had materially reduced prices by
competition.
1 34 Jefferson County.
The Central Railroad now having been completed and become a part
of the Louisville & Nashville Railway line, and the way opened to the
half score of great coal mines opened in reach of it, we find the eng-
ineer's estimated prices of Alabama coals delivered at Mobile to be not
"five or six dollars" in fact, but <bout one half of that price, with the
certainty of early reduction.
Referring to tlie inevitable. Engineer Milner told the Governor, in view
of Mr. Jefferson Davis' scheme for building a railroad from San Francisco
to the Atlantic, "the Pacific Railroad, if built from Vicksburg to San
Francisco, cannot carry freight one half as cheaply to the last named city,
or to China, as zna Tehauntepec, or Panama. The greatest drawback
to the commerce of the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific is the cost of coal.
Supply this fuel at a cheap rate and the highway of commerce will be
directly over the Gulf of Mexico and through some one or more of the
isthmian connections with the Pacific." In intimate relations with the Gulf
commerce in coal, Mr. Milner pointed out the advantages which must fol-
low to the cotton trade with Europe and the North. Alluding to New
Orleans he said, " only small vessels can enter that port." But the great
social and political revolution which was destined to precipitate the opening
of the mines of Alabama, also brought to the attention of the world the
hydraulic engineering talent of James B. Eads. " Eads' Jetties," at the
mouth of the Mississippi, have opened the port of New Orleans to the
largest ocean steamers. This was one preparatory step toward that gigantic
development in close connection with the 1858 survey of the engineer,
which he had predicted as a consequence of its completion. It was one,
and a most important victory, easy to win, but grand to plan in that suc-
cession of circumstances which expose the attitude of Alabama toward
the countries around the central basin of the Western Hemisphere — the
Gulf of Mexico. These enumerated circumstances elevate Alabama into^
a position toward all the States of the Union bordering on the Gulf, and all
the country of Central and South America and the Pacific States, China,
Japan, and the Sandwich Islands, correspondent to the position of Pennsyl-
vania toward the Atlantic States and Europe.
The work of Milner and Rodes was the key that unlocked the sources
of the greatness of Alabama. All honor to them ! Southerners, they
were prophets of labor; broadened into the realm of mind; forerunners
of the mighty army of thinkers who catch the thought of the Great First
Cause.
The two railroads having been crossed on the site of Birmingham, let
us inquire into their direct influence in promoting the interests of Alabama.
Early Railroad Btiilding. 135
When the line of the Central Railroad had been laid there was not a
single village between Montgomery and Decatur, its full length of over
two hundred miles. Now there are numerous towns and villages which
pay a large part of the State taxes and stimulate the industries of the
intervening country. The landlocked and unequaled wealth of the mount-
ains seek this artery of interstate commerce, which carries an influence as
wide as the Union and overflowing the bounds of the Union. The
mountain population along its line, which before had been limited in indus-
try to a rude agriculture without accessible markets, have discovered occu-
pations more enlarged and enlightening in the mines and manufactures, in
the railroad, telegraph .and express offices, in the trading shops, hotels, and
the like. They see more of life, hear more of knowledge, read more, and
are better citizens and wiser voters.
The agricultural and manufacturing colony called Cullman was settled
by the munificence of the South & North Railroad. John G. Cullman, a
German citizen of the North-West, contracted about 1872 with the railroad
to take several thousand acres of its land, part of Blount and other counties
lying along the line of the road. This done, Mr. Cullman, with prompt-
ness and energy, brought settlers to it from the German colonies of the
North- Western States and from the Fatherland direct. . When the coloniz-
ation began, the taxes. State and county, of the area now embraced in
Cullman County, did not exceed ;^500. The State taxes alone now reach
the sum of S5, 099.63.
This experiment is pursued on the poorest quality of land in Alabama.
Yet it is notably successful. The colonists are industrious and contented.
Their farms are devoted to profitable market crops, after a sufficiency for
home consumption has been made safe. At the State Fair of 1886 "the
Paul Mohr Fruit Company, " of Cullman, exhibited a rare and beautiful
display of fruit brandies of many kinds, port wines, claret, cordials,
sirups, etc., manufactured from fruits and grapes grown in the county of
Cullman. The exhibit proved conclusively that the soil will produce and
the climate ripen grapes, the wine-making qualities of which successfully
compete with California.
The South & North Alabama Railroad terminates at Decatur, and
crosses the Alabama near Montgomery. Decatur is at the upper end of
the Mussel Shoals on the Tennessee River. So soon as the canal, now
nearing completion, shall be opened to navigation, heavy freights from
Birmingham for the West will have only about one hundred miles rail
transportation, via the South & North line, to reach water for Paducah and
all points on the Mississippi and its tributaries.
XxsiXi-iy lr\;lo^ri<:t5'-
JOHN T. MILNER. THOJIAS PKTERS.
THE ELYTON LAND COMPANY.
JOSIAH MORRIS. JAMES R. POWELL.
H. M. CALDWELL. W. J. MILNER. D. S. TROY.
THE WATER WORKS.
J. W. SLOSS. H. F. DeBAUDELEBEN.
CHAPTER VII.
JOHN T. MILNER,
THE GREAT ENGINEER.
John Turner Milner was born in Pike County, Georgia, September
29, 1826. His father, WiUis J. Milner, was a native of Wilkes County,
Georgia, and his mother, Elizabeth Milner, ncc Turner, was born in
Edgecombe County, North Carolina. His grandmother, on his father's
side, was a sister of the Rev. Joshua S. Calloway, who, in his lifetime,
was one of the most eminent Baptist divines of the State of Georgia.
The Galloways and Milners of Georgia, and the Turners of North
Carolina, were plain, matter-of-fact people, and the subject of this sketch
comes honestly by his simple and unpretentious manners. Like most
t ,y. ^^^ii^^^t^^A
Initial Influences. 139
boys of his part of the State, of that day and time, he went to school
and worked on the farm alternately.
He was ten years old when his father moved to Lumpkin County,
Georgia, to engage in gold mining. This date records the beginning of
his eventful and interesting career. It commenced in the following inci-
dent : A little negro boy, a year older than himself, and who had been
his playmate from birth, was employed as a laborer in rolling the
earth, containing the precious metal, from a tunnel, or drift, under the
mountain, on the Pigeon Roost gold vein. This naturally led to a desire
on his part to be similarly engaged, and he was indulged in the privilege
of taking a wheel-barrow, suited to his strength, and, joining his play-
mate, learned his first lessons in mining. Learned them, too, in a far
more practical and valuable way than could have ever been gained from
books.
In the interim, from his twelfth to his fifteenth year, his father was
engaged in railroad contracting, on an extensive scale, in Georgia, and
here again we find the future engineer engaged in all kinds of work ren-
dered necessary in railroad construction, not even refusing to lay his help-'
ing hands to anything that required his personal superintendence. He
was everywhere, an active and progressive spirit, and the valuable experi-
ence thus attained was of inestimable service to him in the labors of man-
hood. He attributes his great success in later enterprises to the early-
learned value of a day's labor by the actual observation and personal
experiences of his youth. Labor is the source of all wealth, and no one
can direct it so well and properly as he who has performed that part him-
self which he directs others to do.
At the age of seventeen young Milner is again found in the gold
mines near Dahlonega, Georgia, laboring in wet and mud from daylight
until dark. This is not exaggeration, but a truthful realization. It was
impossible for one to have become a practical and skillful miner without
complying with such hardships and fulfilling such conditions as fell to his lot.
While engaged in this work one of those incidents which seem to be the
premonition of fate, and which, in their effects, have controlled and directed
the destinies of many a man, was encountered by this youth. To the
uninitiated it is well to state that the gold in placer, or deposit mines, lies
usually in streaks along the branches or creeks, sometimes running along
the bed of the creek, and again on the one side or the other, often cross-
ing from side to side in a zigzag course. The Pay streak, on the south
side of Cane Creek, at the mouth of Pigeon Creek, had given out or been
lost, or was covered by allu\-ium from twentj' to forty feet deep. The
1 40 Jefferson Cotitity.
father had a suspicion, but only a suspicion, where it lay. _The practical
execution of his theory necessitated a deep excavation, and, besides cost-
ing a great deal of money, required much labor. To such an ardent
spirit as the subject of our sketch, however, this task appeared very
inviting, and no sooner had his father's idea been made known to him
than he set about to attempt its practical attainment. He took four old
negroes, who by age were incapacitated for active and hard labor on the
farm, and began with their assistance the work of making the excavation.
For weeks and months his father watched the progress of the work with
patience and hope, earnestly promising himself and his God, as he fre-
quently afterward told his son and his family, that if the undertaking
proved a success, " John should goto college." At last the bottom of
the excavation was reached and a little hole was scooped out, and a trial
with the first pan of earth yielded one dollar, showing that the rich Pay
streak had been struck. Without further parley the old negroes were
called out of the pit, and the next morning, in fulfillment of the condi-
tional promise, John went to Dahlonega, had two suits of clothes made,
and soon left for Athens, the seat of the University of Georgia. It was
in June, near the Commencement Exercises of the institution, and he
could not be allowed to enter any of the college classes at that season.
He did not know the Greek alphabet, but Professor McCoy undertook to
prepare him for college, and in August he entered the Freshman class,
and, after the second session, stood at the head of his class, where he
maintained himself for nearly three years, until failing health forced him
to leave college.
While wandering around his father's home, gloomy, disappointed,
and in wretched health, he met the late George H. Hazlehurst, the dis-
tinguished civil engineer, then engaged on the Macon & Western Rail-
road, under the presidency of the late General Daniel Tyler. The. mag-
netic manner of Mr. Hazlehurst was irresistible, and young Milner
immediately went to work for him, beginning at the bottom, cutting
bushes and carrying the chain. His advancement here was rapid, for in
less than two years we find him locating, as the principal assistant engi-
neer, the Muscogee Railroad, now a part of the Columbus & Macon Rail-
road.
As an illustration of the relations then existing between young mas-
ters and their young negro playmates, we mention an occurrence in which
the same negro, Stephen, his playmate already mentioned, figured.
Stephen was with his young master on this survey under Mr. Hazlehurst.
He was as black as a raven, and almost as sleek, was then about twenty
Initial Influences. 141
years old, and of a timid disposition. Hazlehurst was full of life and
vigor, and would not allow time to hang heavily on his hands. At night,
rainy days, and on other leisure occasions he would propose a game of
cards, usually " seven-up." On the particular occasion now referred to,
Hazlehurst, Milner, Schley, a son of ex-Governor Schley, of Georgia, and
Steve formed the "gentlemen" of the party, the others being negro
axmen, cooks, etc. Hazlehurst and Steve were partners, playing against
Milner and Schley. Neither Milner nor his negro knew the name of a
single card in the deck, much less how to play a game. Mr. " Hazledy, "
as the negro called his partner, undertook to initiate him into the mys-
teries of the game. Hazlehurst, with great earnestness and care, taught
the negro and explained the game to him. After several games of
instruction had been tried the playing began in earnest. Stephen was told
not to let any one look into his hand, and what to do and what not to do ;
among other points he was instructed how to handle his trumps, aces,
and other cards. The cards were dealt around, and Stephen, showing the
whites of his eyes with a broad grin on his countenance, was called on to
play. Down went the wrong card, and instantly Mr. "Hazledy " reached
across the table, grabbed Stephen by the wool, and, shaking him,
exclaimed : " Stephen, you good-for-nothing black , didn't I tell you
not to play so and so?" The negro, good humoredly and laughing,
would reply, again and again, "Mr. Hazledy, I thought dat was right,
sah." Order being restored, the game begun again, and in a few min-
utes Stephen would violate the rules of the game, and the same hair-
pulling and head-shaking would be gone through anew. This was the
only game of cards Mr. Milner ever learned, and the introduction of this
incident here serves mainly to illustrate the kindly manner in which serv-
ants were, in the old era, treated by gentlemen of character in the South.
Hazlehurst and Milner both afterward reached the highest places in
their profession as civil engineers, and moved in the best society wher-
ever they went, and yet, when negroes were held as slaves, occupying the
place Nature appeared to have assigned to the race, they were treated by
men of social position as companions. Negro slaves and body-servants,
as a rule, at the South, were privileged characters. They occupied no
unnatural or strained relations, and acted no such foolish part as they do
now in the political atmosphere of freed men and women.
In 1842 young Milner drove an ox team across the plains to Oregon
and California. Here his knowledge of mining and the use of the pick
and shovel, learned in the early days, served him a good part. His educa-
tion and profession also came into play. He was appointed by General.
142 Jefferson County.
Riley, the then Provisional Governor of California, Cit)- Surveyor of the
city of San Jose, the capital of the State.
In 1852 he returned to Georgia, and shortly afterward went to Ala-
bama, and began his career in this State on the Montgomery & West
Point Railroad, at Chehaw, in Macon County. He was, at various times,
employed on all the railroads of East Alabama. December 30, 1855, he
was married to Miss Flora J. Caldwell, daughter of John C. Caldwell, of
Greenville, Ala.
In 1858 he was commissioned by Governor Moore, under an act of
the legislature, to survey and locate a railroad line, connecting the navi-
gable waters of the Alabama River with those of the Tennessee, with the
view of developing the mineral regions of the State. The line upon
which the South & North Alabama Railroad was built was selected and
recommended by Mr. Milner. He was elected Chief Engineer of the
South & North Alabama Railroad Company November 3, 1858, and con-
tinued in this position until the railroad was completed, and placed under
the control of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad system October i, 1872.
Apart from the confidence inspired by Mr. Milner's earlier record,
those who became familiar with his work in this latter enterprise, bear
the highest testimony to the industry, integrity, and intelligence brought
to bear upon the responsible duties of his high position. As chief
engineer and simerintendent of this great company his name must live
Jn Alabama history.
Retiring from the active management of the South & North Alabama
Railroad, after its completion, Mr. Milner began to build up his own for-
tunes. It seemed that everything he touched prospered and turned into
money. The splendid saw-mill interests at Boiling, Alabama, were
founded and fostered by him. The great city of Birmingham was pro-
jected by him, and before Colonel Powell, Josiah Morris, or any others
thought of such a place, he had entered into a written agreement with
Mr. R. C. McCalla, as the chief engineer and representative of the
managers of the Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad, to buy for their
respective companies the land at the crossing of the two roads, with the
view of building a great industrial city. The ground selected and actually
purchased was in Village Creek Valley, several miles north-west of the
present site of Birmingham, and extending from a point near Pratt Mines
toward the east. The whole tract embraced about seven thousand acres.
This location for the city would have been superior to the present one in
many respects, and among other things would have possessed the more
convenient water supply. He was thwarted in his purposes by the sudden
hit tin! riiflnciU'cs. 14:
and unwarranted withdrawal of the managers for the Alabama & Chatta-
nooga people from their written agreement. Instead of continuing the
construction of their road to the point already agreed upon, they changed
the location of their line, and, as a preliminary step, bought the present
site of the city of Birmingham, without any notice whatever to Milner.
Not knowing exactly where Milner would cross their line, with the South
& North, they, as a matter of precaution, only took sixty-day options on
the purchases they had made. After ordering the change of their line from'
the Village Creek Valley to the Elyton Valley, there was no other available
crossing except where Birmingham now is. When the change of purpose
above stated was announced to Milner he felt lonesome and forlorn ; as if he
were an iceberg, indeed, alone in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean. He had
been reading and hearing of "Yankee tricks " all his life, but his first expe-
rience in that line with the Boston men was enough to make the red blood
in his veins curdle and refuse to circulate, and the hair of his head to
turn gray. The news of the purchase was brought to him by Baylis E.
Grace, in his camp in the middle of the proposed site of the new city,
where he and the Alabama & Chattanooga engineers were busily
engaged laying off streets, railroad lines, etc. The enormity of the trans-
action staggered the engineers of both companies, and a written protest
against the change, signed by Milner and McCalla, the respective chief
engineers and actors in the matter of locating the new city, was sent to
Chattanooga. No reply was ever made. There was no alternative for
Milner but to be "left out in the cold," or to beat his adversaries. The
latter he claims to have done, thoroughly and well.
Surveys were made for crossings at every available point above and
below Elyton for miles. No human being, not even his principal assist-
ant engineer, knew his chief's purposes or plans. The late Colonel
Powell, Major Thomas Peters, and others exercised all the ingenuity of
their acute minds to ascertain where the crossing of the two railroads
would be located. Threats of personal violence were made. The presi-
dent nor any one of the directors knew any more than an outsider.
Throughout the sixty days the little dried-up enigma (Milner was a man
of short stature) sat in his tent giving out no intimation or sign. The
excitement and uncertainty grew apace ; the sixty-day options were about
to expire; the owners of the lands repaired, with their lawyer. Colonel
Martin, who held their deeds in escrow, to Montgomery, to complete the
transaction and get their money. The fifty-ninth day passed and no funds
were at the banking house of Josiah Morris & Company to pay the
options. The sixtieth day passed and no funds. Five minutes past noon'
1 4.4. Jefferson County.
on the sixtieth day Major Campbell Wallace, now of Atlanta, entered Mr.
Milner's office in Montgomery and threw up his hands, and, with that
inimitable smile on his face, and that peculiar manner that has won for him
so many victories in life, said: " Milner, I want you to tell me something,
if it is right for you to do so, and if it is not right, don't do it. Where
will the crossing be?" The major was told to come back in three days.
Three days, the three days of grace allowed in such transactions, passed,
'and punctually to the minute the major reappeared. He was told that the
dropped, or forfeited Stanton options, covered the site of the Great City.
In a few hours Josiah Morris had taken up the last one of these options
and paid the money on them, and the Boston men were left on an iceberg
of their own creation. This transaction fully exemplifies Mr. Milner's
character and capacity. Faithful to the trust confided to him as the engi-
neer of the South & North Alabama Railroad, he had arranged for his
company to own half of the great city of the future. Thwarted in this
he set about deliberately to compass the defeat of his adversaries. Mild-
mannered, gentlemanly, and well balanced, he rarely ever fails in the end
to come out even with an adversary.
We see displayed here the elements of character, caution, patience,
perseverance, and intelligence, which have placed John T. Milner in the lead
among the thinking and successful men of Alabama in the new era.
His later achievement, the development and sale of the Coalburg Coal
property, near Birmingham, to the Georgia Pacific Railroad people, in May,
1883, at a profit of over two hundred thousand dollars, is in perfect accord
with the features of his past record.
Before effecting the sale of this valuable property, Mr. Milner had
already begun the development of his present splendid possessions at New
Castle, about nine miles east of the city of Birmingham, and situated on
the road which he, as chief engineer, located about a quarter of a century
ac^o. New Castle coal, in addition to the usual good qualities possessed by
Alabama coals, will also make splendid coke, an indispensable requisite to
pig-iron making. It is not at all unlikely that furnace fires may soon be
seen glowing there, enhancing, in a threefold degree, the value of this
property.
He is also an owner of valuable property in the city of Birmingham,
being a stockholder in the most important land companies here, and being
yet remarkably well preserved ; and with his present large accumulations
of wealth, and with his known energy and sagacity, it would be not easy
to predict what his course in the future may reveal, of fortune or honor.
Mr. Milner, while making no pretensions as a man of letters, writes
Initial Influences. 145
sensibly, fluently, and even eloquently. His book, " Alabama as It Was,
as It Is, and as It Will Be," written soon after the war, sustains appreciably
the truth of this view of his attainments.
His newspaper discussion of the Convict Question in Alabama, a few
years ago, proves him to be a no mean antagonist in that line of controversy.
Mr. Milner has lived to see the verification of his hopes and predic-
tions respecting the mineral region of the State of Alabama. He enter-
tained these views tenaciously, when other men considered them the
creations of a vain fancy.
His home is the seat of perfect domestic felicity, and he is now sur-
rounded by his children and grandchildren, who are to him sources of
perennial happiness.
THOMAS PETERS,
THE PIONEER EXPLORER.
While as yet no railroad had opened to commerce the land-locked
mineral weath of Alabama, and the fame of no city had published it to
the world. Major Thomas Peters traveled on foot across the mountains of
ore and coal, and the valleys of limestone between ; and his narrative of
what he saw was better heeded and did more at that time to persuade men
of means and enterprise to come to see for themselves, and, following their
inquiry, to buy and take up their abode in the midst of this unparalleled
prodigality of resources than any other moral influence known to history.
Thomas Peters was born October 29, 18 12, in Wake County, North
Carolina. His ancestors were one of the English families who came to
Virginia, three brothers, and settled near Petersburg, in the reign of
Charles II. When Thomas was three years old James P. Peters, his father,
moved from Wake County, North Carolina, to Maury County, the cele-
brated agricultural and live-stock breeding region of Middle Tennessee, and
settled near Spring Hill. Fifteen years later the family moved to Henry,
one of the western counties of the same State.
After receiving the limited degree of education which the common
schools of a thinly-populated country, then mostly in" forest, could offer,
Thomas entered his long and distinguished business career as a clerk on a
steamer plying between Nashville and New Orleans via the Cumberland
and Mississippi Rivers. Several thousand bales of cotton and one or two
hundred passengers, many of these the owners of the cotton, constituted
a boat load in those days for first-class craft on these waters. The planters,
1 46 Jefferson County.
with tlieir wives and daughters, were bound for New Orleans, there to sell
their crops and lay in a twelve-month supply for the family and the slaves of
all that the market afforded of luxuries and necessaries. On the passenger
manifest were often names of professional sports, and gambling ran high in
the fortnight or so of time in which the passage was consumed. On these
boats was wont to be seen the celebrated Bowie, the inventor of the knife
bearing his name, which settled many disputes arising from the games
played by him and his compagnons de ivjag-e. In this trying school young
Peters learned to be patient, brave, and temperate. The sympathetic nature
of the young man ripened under the discipline of this responsible position,
and this varied observation of human nature. His life was enlarged, and
his mind learned to weigh the strength and the weakness of men with won-
derful accuracy. All comments now made upon a long and useful life,
closed in honor, with one consent agree that no motive ever entered it
which was not exalted, and no hope ever moved it to action which was
beneath the standard of the strictest integrity and the highest sense of
responsibility to society and to God. Like refined gold his character came
from its trials purified.
At the early age of twenty-one Mr. Peters was successfully engaged
in buying and selling lands in the South-Western States. He bought
considerable tracts from the Indians in the northern counties of Missis-
sippi, who sold their possessions preparatory to their removal to the trans-
Mississippi reservations.
In 1837, when twenty-five years old, Mr. Peters married Miss Ann
Eliza Glasgow, of Tennessee. He then moved to a plantation and became
a cotton grower. Five years later his wife died, childless. Nine years from
the date of his first marriage he married Miss Sarah J. Irion. After thirteen
years she died, leaving a daughter as the only offspring. This daughter,
Amelia L., grew into a rarely beautiful and accomplished woman, and
became the wife of Robert H. Henley, the first mayor of Birmingham.
As contractor Mr. Peters built thirty-five miles of the Memphis &
Charleston Railroad. He was living in Memphis as a real estate broker at
this time, and besides the railroad work took contracts on levee build-
ing along the Mississippi.
While living in Memphis the war of 1861 came on, and he entered
it with zeal in his forty-ninth year. He was appointed, by the Governor of
Tennessee, and commissioned as chief quartermaster of the State troops.
On a more complete organization of the Confederate army he was com-
missioned major in that service, and assigned to the duties of quartermaster
on the staff of Major-General Leonidas Polk. Major Peters remained in
Initial Influences. 147
the field in this capacity until after the fall of General Polk and the
assumption of the command of the Army of the Tennessee by General
Hood.
In 1864 he was ordered to Selma to take command of army transpor-
tation under General Richard Taylor. Here the surrender of the Confed-
erate armies found him.
There was a Confederate arsenal at Selma, and Alabama iron was used
there for casting cannon and other military purposes. The excellent
quality of the metal suggested, to the quick faculties of Major Peters, an
investigation of the sources of supply. From this preliminary came his
early explorations and transactions in mineral lands in Jefferson County.
He received his parole from the Federal authorities in April, 1865, and
promptly directed his energies toward explorations for ores and coal into
the mountains of Alabama. He spoke urgently of his faith to all who
would listen. He was too poor to buy a horse, but he walked alone on
his mission. Penniless and on foot he traversed the unknown forests,
locating mineral lands, and making the way plain to men of wealth, w horn
he declared, in his enthusiasm, must come to them.
Having accomplished all that any one man might before the railroads
should penetrate the favored lands, IVIajor Peters went to reside in Minne-
sota with his son-in-law, Mr. Henley, who was forced to try that climate for
his failing health. From there he went to Savannah, Ga. , to engage in
the cotton trade. In 1869 he returned permanently to Jefferson County.
Birmingham was not then on the map. He settled in Elyton, the county
seat, and engaged in mineral land speculations, and in concentrating on
Jefferson County a most valuable spirit of inquiry.
Major Peters was living in Birmingham, one of the most generally
respected and beloved of citizens, when the Louisville Exposition of 1883
invite'd the display of specimens of the mineral and other resources of
Alabama there. Against the protest of friends, who thought a man in
his seventy-first year should not undergo the fatigue of the office, he went
to take charge of the large exhibit made by the Alabama railroads from
their lands and those bordering. He soon succumbed to overwork and
an acute attack of cold, and died, attended by many friends, at an infirmary
»iq that city. The remains were brought to Birmingham at once for inter-
ment. When the last offices of respect to the body were to be performed
the demonstrations of public sympathy were complete. The houses of
business in the city were closed, and a great procession escorted it to the
city cemetery.
From early life Major Peters had been an active member of the Meth-
9
1 48 Jefferson County.
odist Episcopal Church South. His unobtrusive charitj- in deeds, and the
entire absence of slander from his tongue, and the transparent purity of
his life, erected a character beloved by all classes and trusted everywhere.
THE ELYTOX LAND COMPANY.
THE FOUNDER OF THE NEW ER.\ .\ N.\TIONAL BENEF.ACTOR.
Stock worth Seventeen Cents rises, gradually, to Thirty-Five
Dollars — An Original Capital Stock of $200,000 Pays
Annual Dividends of 100 to 340 per centum, and is now
Valued at over $15,000,000 — Gives Birmingham more than
$1,000,000 — A Policy of Progress and Liberality.
When Mr. Josiah Morris, the Montgomery banker, came forward to
close the options taken on the 4, 150 acres of land by Mr. J. C. Stanton,
as we have seen, and which Mr. Stanton had forfeited, the titles were all
taken in Mr. Morris' name, and the land became his individual property.
There was, nevertheless, no purpose on the part of the transferee to hold
possession longer than necessary to allow the company to relieve him of
the purchase. He reserved 500 shares of the 2,000 shares issued for his
bank and for himself individually, and assigned the remainder to the
company. The number of shares now held by the same parties is 520.
Titles.
Property rights in the land purchased had a short and exceedingly
simple history. Every acre was known by township, range, section, and
fraction of a section, the numbers having been located under the survey of
the United States Government. The settlers who came to enter it orig-
inally had acquired the Government titles, all of which were of record in the
Government land offices. These original settlers had been a remarkably
conservative, contented, and patriotic class, seldom carrying any part of
their lands into the market ; or, if selling them at all, never failing to
convey clear title deeds, as the terms of sale required. There were no
banks or other facilities in the vicinity to encourage speculation. The
agricultural monopoly was unbroken, and the crops were all consumed at
Initial hifliiences. 149
home, except the cotton ; and even of that staple no inconsiderable part
was spun by the teak wheel, found in the corner of every family sitting-
room, and woven by the hand-loom, which sat, under a shed beneath the
eaves of the humble family abode, on the ground.
The vendors of Mr. Morris' 4, 150 acres of farm land, a large portion
of it lying in brush, tanglewood, and stately timber of oak, dogwood,
walnut, cedar, chestnut, hickory, ash, elm, and pine, the other in corn
and cotton plantations, were possessed of the mountaineer's devotion to
his home, and consented to the banker's terms with no undisguised reluct-
ance. Twenty-five dollars per acre was the purchasing price, cash. This
price, however, carried with it an irresistible temptation ; it could never be
expected from any other source. The desired area, in a body, was
obtained, some of the settlers preferring to take a part of the amount due
them on the sale in the stock of the company. It thus appears that
disputed titles to lots sold by the company are not to be numbered
among the possibilities overhanging its business in the real estate line.
The lawyers of Birmingham seldom find a case involving claims to titles
to lots in litigation, and all such cases, of the fewest as they are, originate
between parties without connection in the most remote degree with the
validity of the company's transfers.
The Name.
Among the land agents of the Federal Government on duty in
Jefferson County was one Ely, a " down-easter, " hailing from the State of
Connecticut. The hearty hospitality which had opened its arms to the
stranger at the threshold of every pioneer's cabin hidden in the forest,
throughout the long distances of his journey, touched that spring of
human nature in his heart which " makes all the world akin." Mr. Ely
found the few scores of settlers of Jefferson County who, sixty-six years
ago, became, perchance, his generous hosts, as the shadows of night
closed in upon his weary tramp with compass and chain through the
wilderness — found them animated by the true spirit of American citizen-
ship, anxious to establish a village and trading center to be the capital of
Jefferson County. In ardent sympathy with their hopes and needs, he
gave the county, as a pledge of his affection, a quarter section of land
(160 acres) for the site of its capital. In just appreciation of the gener-
ous act the county named its capital Elyton. "The Elyton Land Com-
pany " is a euphonic title, and no fault is to be laid against the organizers
on the score of taste in choosing a name. It is destined to become a
1 50 Jefferso7i Coiinty.
classic name. But why did they select it? The land of the company,
lying about the railroad crossing, had been purchased to found a city
upon, and the village of Ely ton, being only one or two miles distant to
the westward, must inevitably be absorbed in the growth of the city,
provided the company should succeed in building up a city to perpetuate
its own name and mission. The gift of the humble but generous Con-
necticut land agent, cast upon the fortunes of Jefferson County, has
returned to his memory with rich honors. His humble name is indissol-
ubly united to the most active, most comprehensive, and most enduring
incorporated enterprise in the entire Southern country, and one which is
even now named throughout the commercial world as the most influential
factor in the central city of the future greatest iron manufacturing indus-
try in the United States. When wc reflect that iron manufactures possess
the singular power to call into activity a greater multitude of subsidiary
industries than any other influence known to man, we may discover how
amply secure in fame is the name of the humble land agent incorporated
into the work of the great company.
Early Career.
The company organized, January 26, 187 1, under a charter granted by
the State of Alabama. James R. Powell was elected President. The
President took up his abode in the new town, and devoted a restless energy,
suggestive mind, and indomitable will ceaselessly to the work of advertising
throughout the United States and Europe the mineral wealth surrounding
it. It was he who surprised the country by calling upon the Alabama
Press Association to meet here two years in succession, and to invite
the New York Press Association to participate in its last meeting. The
New Yorkers were twitted by the pluck of the proffered hospitality of a
town boastfully claiming a future, while at that moment it had neither place
on the map to be pointed out to the traveler, nor convenient inn for the
entertainment of visitors. Turning to the project of Colonel Powell, the
New York newspaper men resolved to accept the consequences of what
they presumed to be a practical joke. They came, saw, and by their pens
conquered a place in the literature of the world's journalism for Birming-
ham. They saw Red Mountain, near an hundred miles long, a bank of
red hematite. They saw the farmers living around the new-born town
hauling over its clay streets, or in by-cuts across its vacant, unfenced lots,
ox-team loads of the most beautiful coal, grubbed from the hillsides of
their pasture lands. With one consent the New York Press Association
Initial Infliiences. 151
turned upon the world a flood-light of information on their discovery of
Birmingham. Hundreds of thousands of laborers, mechanics, investors,
and speculators in the United States and in Europe saw that light reflected
from the white paper which beguiled their evening hours. This masterful
stroke of policy on the part of the first President of the Elyton Land
Company incalculably advanced the future of the city. It stands out in
the narrative of the marvelously rapid growth here seen like the fame of
Desaix at Marengo, or of McDonald at Wagram. It accomplished by a
single move the safety of a grand and crowning plan.
The Organization of the Company
was effected January 26, 187 1. The plan of the city was determined, and
Major M. P. Barker, a thoroughly-educated and accomplished civil engin-
eer, began the important work of laying off the streets, avenues,
alleys, reservations for churches, parks, and the railroads, already here,
and others to come. And what a perfect plan was this so admirably
executed ?
The area of old fields and tanglewood to be checkered off into squares,
bound by highwa}'S of the future city, under the skill, taste, and pains-
taking care of the faithful engineer, lay stretched out before him. Charged
\\\ this arduous professional work stood the task of laying the foundation
of the grand industrial revival of Alabama! Around Birmingham it
was felt by all who had hope, as the pioneers here hoped, must gather
the springs of the new life which, in due time, would diffuse its ener-
gies into the rich gifts of nature concentrated in the bounds of this com-
monwealth. Timber lands as bountiful as those of Michigan; farming
lands as rich as the valley of the Mohawk, the Susquehanna, the Ohio, or
the Mississippi ; many deep and beautiful streams, suited to the carriage of
commerce ; a matchless climate, and in the center of this magnificence of
endowment lay the most abundant deposits of iron in the world ; the
thickest coal seams in the Union ; limestone in inexhaustible supply, and
marble beds, to which the world must turn in amazement at proof of their
profusion and excellence of quality.
Here sits the city, its plan a model, in harmony with the simplicity
and rugged strength of iron. Like a chess board it spreads out, upon
which are daily and hourly moved the fortunes of thousands of men,
women, and children, who live here to work and to prosper amidst becom-
ing occupations, and in the atmosphere of a matured society, where the
most liberally-constructed public-school system of the South prevails, and
152 Jefferson Coiinty.
churches and social organizations flourish in a degree commensurate with
the material prosperity.
Major Barker ran his lines over nearly two thousand acres of the
Elyton Land Company's purchase. The squares are 300 to 400 feet
front. The streets are fifty-six feet between sidewalks, which are
twelve feet wide on each side. The streets are laid out from north-
east to south-west. Across all the streets, running at right angles
are avenues sixty feet between the curbstones. Thus the western and
eastern sides of every square in the city are bounded by wide streets,
while the northern and southern sides are bounded by wider avenues.
Every square is bisected by an alley twenty feet in width, and running
in the same direction with the avenues. The ventilation thus provided
is admirable.
The Railroad Reservation
is a tract of open land running through the center of the plan, from north-
east to south-west, and therefore parallel with the avenues. This reservation
is devoted to the purpose of railroad entrance and exit to and from the city.
It is a reach of valley with abundant fall, however, to drain storm water.
It is easily approached from all the highways of the city, and, as the railroad
buildings and commercial warehouses begin to border the open space, the'
many long reaches of iron tracks, laden with a ceaseless hurrying up
and down of long trains of cars, bearing the private brand of many
corporations and lines of commerce, create of the railroad reservation a
little world in itself. There is an open free public bridge spanning the
railroad reservation, at a central point, and connecting Birmingham
"South" with Birmingham "North" of the railroads. Over this pass
continuously a stream of foot-passengers, trains of street cars drawn by
steam motors, pleasure carriages, and loaded drays. It is one thousand
feet long, and is a present to the city by the Elyton Land Company. From
the arch of the bridge are plainly seen the furnaces in the distance,
with their quenchless fires, at either end of the city, the various other
iron industries, the flouring mills, the magnificent Union Passenger Depot,
the rolling mills, the wholesale grocery warehouses, the cotton warehouse
and compress, numberless lumberyards, railroad shops, all lining the mazy
iron pathway stretching out to the northward and southward.
Initial Influences. 15^
The First Sale
of lots of the company was advertised to begin June i, 1871, nearly six
months before the date of the city charter. The bouyant spirits who came
to pledge their faith by putting down their cash for titles to these were the
pledges of the new life to Alabama. The railroads had not then become
available to passenger travel. The Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad had
a finished track passing Birmingham, connecting both termini, but no
management had as yet been provided for it equal to performing the
ordinary duties and conveniences of a railroad. There were no regular
trains, either by the day or the week. The South & North Railroad had
not been completed to within many miles of the city from the North.
The railroads, however, had driven out the long-operated four-horse
stage-coach lines, thus reducing the opportunities of the traveler to the
greatest certainty.
The bright June day came for the marketing of Birmingham lots.
These had all been numbered and wooden pins driven into the ground to
mark the limits. The branch water flowed across them in undisputed
right of way ; the browsing cattle and the birds, feeding their unfledged
broods in the boughs of the trees, were the sole visible occupants. Many
hopeful speculators had come, some of both sexes, and some who had
walked for miles, because at the termini of one of the railroads they could
find no conveyance, private or public. The initial day of the destiny of
Birmingham opened clear and bright. The sale of lots was satisfactory.
The first lot was bought by Major A. Marre. He may then be properly
termed
The First Settler.
His ample fortune has matured from the faith that was then in him. The
major paid the company $150 for a lot, now in the heart of the city, on
the corner of First avenue and Nineteenth street. The value of this
property now, after some six or seven years steady growth of the city,
may be indicated in the market value of the lot corner of First avenue
and Twentieth street, one block away. The latter lot, unimproved, was
sold recently for $1,000 per front foot. By corresponding ratio of increase
Major Marre's original investment of $150 would now command ;^ioo,ooo.
The lot on the opposite side of the street from Major Marre's Si 50 purchase
was sold at public auction, in the rain, last June, to Mr. Josiah Morris
at $635 per front foot. It will be remembered that Mr. Morris owned
1 54 Jefferson County.
this land less than twenty years before, and transferred it to the company
at the rate of $25 per acre. Upon the Morris lot is now being erected a
five-story business house, stone and iron front, to be of the latest archi-
tectural design.
The two years following 1872-73 the company sold less than $IOO,000
wortli of lots. It did not sell as much as $25,000 worth in 1873. In
1873 the cholera epidemic visited the city. The stores were closed and
the population deserted their houses. The president of the company,
who was then mayor of the city, remained at his post of duty, and
participated, in the most active manner, in every available relief measure,
giving his personal attention to the details. The financial panic, known as
Black Friday, of September of this year, originating in New York among
the speculative stocks of Wall street, at once involved every innocent
commercial business throughout the Union. In Alabama the people were
almost wholly dependent for the means of paying their debts and providing
means for life upon the sales of their cotton crop, then being harvested.
For weeks no sales could be made. The banks were practically closed.
Even the depositors could only procure a small pro rata of their cash bj'
paying discount on their own drafts.
An agricultural community recovers slowly from such panics. It was
upon the more adventurous of the agriculturists that the Elyton Land
Company must chiefly rely for the sale of its lots. The sons of cotton
planters who might hope to better their fortunes by removal here, to
engage in the new opportunities — the lawyers, doctors, school teachers,
was the population to be expected. In 1874 the sales reached ^7,955.83.
Indeed, from 1873 to January, 1879, ^^ ''ggi'^g'^te sales had amounted
only to 555,516.70 — five years time. In all this time there was scarcely a
movement amidst the stagnation ponderously settled upon the hopes of
the town. The desk of the secretary of the company had been attached
for debt. The stock was offered at seventeen cents on the dollar, and with
difficulty found a purchaser. Within this time the company had borrowed
;? 100,000 to erect the complete sj'stem of water works now in operation.
Payment fell due. All the stock and assets of the company were far
below the cash value of ^ 100, 000. The creditors resorted to the courts.
There was a meeting of the stockholders. It was agreed that the
mortgage bonds of the company should be issued for a sufficient amount
to pay off the' debt. The money was raised after considerable difficult)'
upon the bonds, and the original creditors satisfied. But the water
works, constructed to supply enough of the waters of the neighboring
mountain stream. Village Creek, must find rent-pa)-ers. Vacant store-
Initial Influences. 155
houses and private residences must open, and new ones must be built, or
the enterprise of the company in supplying the pipes and hydrants would
return to plague the inventor.
Colonel James R. Powell had resigned the presidency, and retired to
his cotton plantation in the Yazoo Valley.
Dr. Henrv M. Caldwell,
a native of Butler County, this State, then forty years old, one of
the original incorporators of the company, was elected to be his
successor. His quick perception convinced him that this spot was to
-be the heart of the revived life of Alabama. From this source would
spread outward the nerves of all industry. To it would ultimately
Tje attracted the character of a distributive center for a great commerce.
The lines of this commerce would multiply so as to penetrate the regions
of the great plantations, would establish towns, villages, and trade along
their courses, would influence the \'alue of lands, and the wages of labor
in remote regions. Here, therefore, this man of forecast, motive, energy,
and courage cast his lines.
We are apt only to call him a statesman who makes wise laws and
provides for their execution. He is first a statesman who approaches the
wealth of nature, and taking it by his will power, bodily up, distributes
•its blessings in reach of the manipulation and usufruct of the multitude.
He is first a statesman who prepares the public to rise to the need of
laws, and to the circumstances of community interests. He it is who
realizes the value of public character.
Dr. Caldwell was made President of the Elyton Land Compan)- in
1875. There was practically no salary. The highest aim of the great
corporation was to draw the breath of life. But in this comatose state
physically, so to speak, the company, under his masterful and courageous
polic)% laid a plan of action. It persevered in opening streets ; it adver-
tised its property, and sold what it could at merely nominal rates;
whoever wanted a lot, to build on it a storehouse or residence, fixed his
own price and paid it. It has also been the policy of the company to
•assist enterprises seeking entrance to the city. It paid no dividends until
1883 — thirteen years of patience and faith and labor.
Every $i,000 originally invested in the stock of the Elyton Land
Company had paid about $18,000 in dividends up to January I, 1887.
The assets of the company were, originally, ^200,000; that is, of the
face valuation in 1870, when the stock was all taken.
156 Jefferson County.
The assets of the company now, some sixteen years later, but witli
only eight years of actual solvency and growth, are fully ^Sl 5,000,000.
The sales of the company in August, 1886, amounted to over one
million of dollars, and in October of the same year were even greater.
The stock is not on the market. A few shares might be bought
possibly for $35 on the $\, face value.
The dividend declared for 1886 was 340 per cent. The increase of
the value of assets of the corporation, estimated December, 1886, as
compared with the same date of the year previous, was, perhaps, 50 per
cent.
There are fifty-four stockholders at present. The smallest number of
shares held by any one person or interest is one ; the largest is five hundred
and twenty. The individual holders are of both sexes, mercantile firms,,
trustees, and bankers.
The Alice Furnace Comp.^ny,
with a capital of $800,000, was the first iron-making industry erected in
the vicinity of Birmingham, and it is suggestive of tiie character of the
Elyton Land Company that the iron company should have become, in the
initiation of its efforts, the beneficiary of its favors. The land company
gave of its own strength to the iron company, giving the land upon which
it operates its capital ; the iron company gave to the land company of its
fame, to be thenceforward known throughout the channels of the commerce
of the world.
The Alice Furnace Company made the first pig iron thrown on the
market from Birmingham, and the enterprise was presided over by Mr.
Henry DeBardeleben, a pioneer investor in the mineral development of
Alabama, and who has the honor of having led the first practical coal
mining by the opening of the Pratt Mines.
The Birmingham Rolling Mills,
with a capital of $100,000, built its works (the only works of its kind
south of the Ohio) on lands given to the company by the Elyton Land
Company.
More than One Million of Dollars,
present value of property, has been given by this company to the city of
Birmingham, not including the streets, avenues, and alleys. This princely
hiitial Influences. 157
donation consists in real estate and improvements. The public parks
within the city, lots to churches, to schools, markethouse, county court-
house, railroad reservation, a free public bridge, one thousand feet long,
arching the railroads, are among its donations.
The private property of the company in public service is various and
numerous in details. The water works owned by it, now completed and
in use, consist of two engines, with the latest improvements, erected on the
bank of Village Creek, some two miles from the center of the city. The
rocky bottom of the stream, and the never-failing supply for a population
of 50,000, not omitting the recommendation of nearness to the con-
sumers— an item of no inconsiderable moment to a corporation under-
taking to supply water to a town, not yet built, by the expenditure of
$100,000 in machinery and fixtures — these conditions prevailed to fix
the works where they now are. The reservoirs for receiving the creek
water, are placed on the summit of a mountainous elevation on the
northern outskirts of the city. They are well guarded and protected
from pollution. The pressure of the water is sufficient in the pipes leading
to the city for all practical purposes. Water can be thrown from hose to
the top of an ordinary three-story building. The steam fire engine is,
however, relied upon to extinguish fires. The water rents of the
company range from $4.7$ to $6.25 per quarter for private residences and
like consumers. The company supplies water to the furnaces, all indus-
tries, and to the city fire-plugs on fixed terms.
There are a number of wells relied upon by families within the city
limits. The Birmingham Brewery, the ice factory, and one of several
steam laundries take the water consumed by their respective works from
a large running stream which breaks out from the rocks at the foot of
the mountains on the southern boundary of the city.
Lakeview Park.
The company owns some fifteen hundred acres of mountainous wood
land of rare natural beauty, where narrow serpentine valleys and rocky
acclivities mark the landscape, situated about a mile to the south-east of
the city. In the midst of this wilderness of nature the springs flowing
out from the mountain sides have been trained to form, in thecrescentlike
valley, a lake of limpid waters, whose borders follow the curves of the
base of the elevated hillsides around them. Bordering the lake is a
pavilion overlooking it ; a boathouse, where small boats in fanciful colors,
the beaming "Water Nymph," "Naiad," and other becoming names.
158 Jefferson County.
are kept for pleasure-seekers. A wide veranda to seat large numbers of
lookers-on, a dance hall opening over the water, a modern restaurant
adjoining, and bathrooms are the conveniences of the pavilion.
On the bordering mountain-tops the company has built cottages
for a summer tenantry. Among them is a clubhouse, where gentlemen
•of leisure may resort to engage in games, read, or swing in hammocks
under the trees, while looking over upon the busy life in the city in the
valley below. Lakeview is connected with the center of the city by the
company's steam-motor railway. Every thirty minutes, from sunrise to
midnight, trains run over the line. It is a most delightful ride, on a bright
day, to take the train for Lakeview, which circles around among the
valleys and along the hillsides, at every turn exposing to the eye some
new enterprise — a solid brick residence here, a fresh-painted cottage there,
a pile of lumber and earnest workmen with tools yonder.
There is a mineral spring at the pavilion of rarest medical properties ;
indeed, as a renovator and tonic its waters are unsurpassed in the Union,
in some cases. On Sundaj-s and holidays thousands from the city flock to
Lakeview. The mineral spring and cool freestone spring waters, the rustic
seats along the hillsides, the boats on the lake, the timely refreshments
at the ever-ready and always-neat restaurant, the broad drives are there.
Some go by coach-loads, some fair maids to drive themselves in hand-
some light phaetons, some young men by bicycle, crowds walk the near
by-ways over the fields, fun-seeking by the way — but the great multitude
go by the five-cent motor line, fifteen minutes time to go or come.
The profits of the line, as a separate enterprise, do not comprehend
its most material benefits to the company, the line passing in and out for
the several miles of length among the company's building lots, small
patches of hillside and mountain-top. Facility for reaching these lots is
afforded the merchant, banker, and others engaged in business in the city.
Accessibility determines the value of even natural advantages. Hence, both
directly in fares and indirectly in appreciation of values in realty, the
motor line proves itself to have been a masterly policy in the president's
management ; other conceptions of his have been equally so.
It is related that, along in the earlier months of the revival of the
fortunes of the company, a few years ago. Dr. Caldwell invited Mr. Josiah
Morris, with one or two others of the stockholders, to drive in a hack
with him into the suburbs. Passing through the streets of the city, and
across the valley surrounding, the vehicle presently began to climb the
hills, the wheels running here into the washed-out ruts of a country path,
and, with a great jolt, there striking against a tree-stump or a boulder.
Initial hifliicnces. 159-
"Where are we to stop, Dr. Caldwell?" shouted Mr. Morris in alarm
and amazement at the progress of the journey. " We arc bound for the
Park," exclaimed Dr. Caldwell, with mock solemnity and matter of course.
"The Park? It is an impracticable drive we are on, and a Pickwickian
'Park,' I vow, we are invited to see," retorted the jostled banker. "Ah!
Dr. Caldwell, you had your own way," the banker now placidly exclaims,
as the motor dashes around the graceful curves, of the railway successor
to the old hack path, to the realized "Park," to deposit him with his-
coinpagno7is de voyage, bent on resting in. the shades over the lake, and
drinking the health-giving waters of the springs.
We ought to say something of the corporate life, which presents to
the world so remarkable an exhibition of practical sympathy with the
general life around it as does this company. It is not necessary to surmise
that the single motive of the Elyton Land Company is self-aggrandizement.
We have only to follow up the singleness of its purpose in the paths, it has
chosen to walk in, to discover that it has, from first to last, worked for its-
own promotion. It is in the wisdom of its methods we find the felicitous
exercise of its right to live. The company has always been a land specu-
lator. It bought, as we have said, 4,150 acres of land for $100,000.
Upon, say, one half of this area streets are laid off, now incorporated or
to be incorporated speedily. The company was organized to build a city.
The earnings af many individual citizens of Birmingham, men and women,
through their lives of labor, have reached the original amount of the
capital stock of the company. The company now owns about the same
number of acres as in the original purchase. It has sold about two-thirds
of its original purchase in realty, and selling so many acres here, has
purchased, from time to time, other lands near by, so as to approximately
preserve its acreage. The company, as we have said, has so used its.
lands — for it owned nothing but lands to start upon, and moreover its
lands and water works only have been allowed to enter its operations —
it has so used its lands that, practically, it has raised their market value
from $100,000 originally invested to some $15,000,000, present value.
Has the action of the corporation been consistent with the rights of indi-
viduals not of the corporation? Admitting that the stockholders,
each man and woman, each adult and minor, have grown rich in the
operations of the company in buying and selling land, has the pros-
perity of the few benefitted the many, or has it existed, in great part, as
extortion and unjust power? This company is the most important and
the richest corporation in the State of Alabama, and fair inquiry into its
methods becomes especially interesting at this time. It has been more
i6o Jefferson County.
active than any other agency in inviting new energies to enter Alabama,
and has accomph'shed more than any other influence in bringing to the
test the wiUingness and capacity of the people of Alabama to lay hold of
the wealth of natural resources around them, to exalt it into "a thing of
joy forever."
Thousands of workingmen and women have flocked to the city of the
Elyton Land Company. The policy of the company invited them to
come, and the practical dealings of the company with the industries,
which employs them, and often with the individual men and women
has continued their domicil here. The company has always sold its lands
within a very moderate market price. As we have already remarked, the
purchaser who desired to build a house to live in or to do business in, in the
early years of the life of the company, fixed his own price and took titles
to the property. Later the company has not wavered from its policy,
except that the conditions being changed, it has advanced definite terms
and prices to correspond. It sells land now to parties who design to build
manufactories, to railroad companies, who need terminal facilities, on long
time and comparatively low rates. It contributed the ground and took
stock in the latest built of the blast furnaces of the city. The company
will build houses for workmen to live in on its own land and accept
monthly payments on the sale of the property to the occupant, to extend
over many months' time, without charge of rent on the same holding. In
a word, the tenant becomes practically a purchaser of the property, which
he acquires in fee simple, by gradual extinguishment of the debt, for the
purchase, in the liberal but reasonable system of month!}- payments of
installments.
The needed encouragement thus given to practical industries has
diversified and enlarged very greatly, even in this early period of the
experiment, the opportunities for labor in Alabama ; and it is the Alabama
people who have most largely embraced them and profited b)- them. The
development of the county of Jefferson, mainly accruing from the foun-
dation and growth of Birmingham, has already elevated it from the former
rank of "pauper," drawing more from the State Treasury for ordinary
support than it contributed, to a highly important taxpayer. Not only
does the property accumulated in the county pay largely of the taxes of
the State, but the railroads crossing at Birmingham, and which could not
live without the support of the industries concentrated here, pay largely
of the receipts reaching the State exchequer.
It is easy to trace the ramifications of the policy of the Elyton Land
Company, as they disclose themselves in the interest of labor, brought by
Initial Inftucnces. i6i
that policy to live in Birming-ham. Let us inquire what the indirect results
have been. The existence of tlie town has not been more inarked by
rapid progress in building and growth in population than it has been in
freedom from feverish excitement, "bulling" and "bearing" in markets
of all kinds. The conservative administration of the preponderating
interests of the company has been a break-water to all such conspiracies
against the public interest. Speculation in lots has been regulated by the
ipse dixit of the Elyton Land Company. No one operator, -or scores of
operators, or syndicates of operators can survive a policy contrary to that
of the company. With moderation and steadiness the company pursues
its way. All others follow in the trail. They cannot find room to pass
by, either to the right or to the left. There is no halt or balk in the
company's progress; no crushing of the weak, only a gentle setting out of
the way of the tardy and the skeptical.
Through the influence of the company there has been no suspension
or apprehension of delay in values in Birmingham since the company paid
its first dividend. Its object has been fixedly, comprehensively, and
enthusiastically adhered to. Individual capitalists who have come to
build up industrial enterprises have been made safe by the immutable
safety of the company.
If, in a purely abstract and theoretical line of inquiry, the company
should be required to respond to a com.parison of its periods of relative
public utility, if it should be required to say that it will continue in like
degree of influence in the future as in its past history, then it might only
be bound to say that the city is growing rapidly stronger than the company,
and the company's responsibility correspondingly reduced. The city is
fast acquiring the control of all influences in and about itself The wants
and the power of tens of thousands of self-incorporated people are no longer
infantile. The child must soon let go the "apron strings " of the mother
and begin to provide for her who so proudly fostered its growth ; other-
wise the proverbial embarrassment of family rights and customs might be
anticipated in this case. .
The Elyton Land Company hoards no money, owns no transportation
other than street railways, keeps no bank of discount, and yet contin-
uously devotes all its energies toward the steady, well-matured, non-
speculative growth of Birmingham, in numbers of people, numbers of
industries, and intrinsic value of realty.
It does not deny the manifest self-interest of its policy in all details.
It does, nevertheless, claim, with experience as the interpreter of its
methods, that it has given full measure for all that it has received. It has
1 62 Jefferson County.
received into its crucible a mass of untried and undetermined conditions,
and it has formulated laws for their reduction to practical uses, to the
betterment of general society, to the maintenance of law, the enrichment
of individuals, the education of youth, the employment of labor, and the
support of the cause of religion. Given, the novelty of the opportunities
of the company, it has wrought out for itself a power, not less peculiar
than comprehensive and catholic. Its opportunities stand upon the
border line between a past civilization and a new civilization. The agen-
cies it must use relate to the long concealed and yet incomparable land-
locked mineral wealth of Alabama ; the erection of a great city, with
banks for money, storehouses for supplies, mills to grind grain, mills to
manufacture goods, a long line of investments to employ all degrees and
conditions of men, women, and children. This artificial creation, a mod-
ern city, is the key to unlock the wealth of the mines of coal and iron
surrounding. The Elyton Land Company has opened the door to Red
Mountain and Pratt Mines.
To build the city has been the work of the company. It is coinci-
dent of a most remarkable character that the opportunities of nature
found so apt a channel for development. The short sketches of the work of
the individuals who shaped the policy of the company following, trace its
origin and progress in Southern-born energy and comprehensiveness of
plan.
JOSIAH MORRIS,
THE FOUNDER OF THE EI.YTON L.AND COMP.ANY.
This, the first published narrative of Mr. Josiah Morris' active life,
finds him a strikingly handsome gentleman ; nervous, yet always suave and
graceful in manner ; scrupulously well dressed after the fashion of a busi-
ness man, and with small outward evidence that the weight of sixty-eight
years is given him to bear. His figure is yet erect, his step elastic, and
countenance alive to every passing interest.
The parents of Josiah Morris were Jeptha and Eliza A. Morris, nee
White, both natives of Maryland. On the eastern shore of that State, so
famous for its aristocratic traditions, Josiah Morris was born in i8i8.
The youth was preparing for college in his native State when an
unanticipated change of circum.stances brought him to the far South. First
he came to Columbus, Ga. , and entered the employment of a mercantile
house, then a lad of fifteen years. Arriving at the duties of manhood he
Initial Infliienccs. r6^
engaged in merchandising and the cotton trade, as was then the custom in
the interior towns of the Cotton States.
After nineteen years of residence and business occupation in Colum-
bus, Mr. Morris, in his thirty-fourth year, the year 1852, went to New
Orleans to enter the greatest cotton trade of the Union. There he fol-
lowed his chosen course with distinguished success for four years.
In 1856 Mr. Morris came to Montgomery, Ala., to devote his whole
attention to private banking. His conservative course has never varied to
admit any kind of speculation. The bankers of Montgomery advance
large sums to cotton planters to make their crops in spring and summer,
and large sums to cotton brokers to move the cotton bales stored in the
warehouses of the city in the fall and winter. The number of bales stored
is about 120,000 annually. The value of the crop of each year is about
S6, 000, 000. The banks of the city handle most of this, and a sum equally
great, representing the trade of the merchants in farm supplies with the
cotton planters only. Of this feature of business, besides others incident
to a prosperous town, Mr. Morris' bank has handled its full share.
Mr. Morris was married, in his twenty-sixth year, to Miss Elizabeth
Harvey, a native of Georgia. The fruit of this happy marriage is one
daughter, herself married to a distinguished young physician of her native
city, Montgomery — Dr. B. J. Baldwin — he being a nephew of one of the
most widely known physicians of the South, Dr. William O. Baldwin, of
Montgomery.
The family of Mr. Morris are active members of St. John's Protestant
Episcopal Church. They live without ostentation, but in style of home
life becoming to the large fortune he has accumulated.
Mr. Morris was the organizer of the Elyton Land Company. His
perfect acquaintance with the agricultural conditions, before and after the
revolution of i860, in the magnificent agricultural country for which
Montgomery has been the distributing center, taught him to appreciate
fully the new and timely opportunity, opened to capitalists by the railroads
about to cross each other in Jones Valley, for founding an iron manufac-
turing city at the crossing.
At the suggestion of John T. Milner, Chief Enginer and General
Manager of one of those roads, the South & North, Mr. Morris came
forward and took up the options placed by J. C. Stanton, Superintend-
ent of the other road, the Alabama & Chattanooga, before known as
the North-East & South-West, when it became known that Mr. Stanton's
financial inability had disappointed his own expectations, leaving him
unequal to close his land trades.
10
164 Jefferso7i Coimty.
Mr. Morris came forward on the assurance of Mr. Milner that the
roads would cross at the only available spot, some two miles north-east of
Jefferson County courthouse at Elyton, and paid for 4,150 acres about
^100,000. This done he gave the city of the future its name, and, as we
have said, organized the Elyton Land Company ; sold to the company the
majority of the stock, represented by the land he had bought, and lifted
the company along over rough paths for years by his personal aid, never
doubting the end.
Josiah Morris & Co., bankers, and Josiah Morris individually now own
520 of the 2,000 shares of the company's stock. The div'idends accrued
to the 520 shares amount, probably, to §500,000 to date. The estimated
value of the company's assets Mr. Morris believes to be $15,000,000.
Besides his large interest in the Elyton Land Company's stock Mr.
Morris owns valuable real estate in the city, which he is about to improve
in the best manner.
Mr. Morris displayed wisdom, sagacity, and courage of the highest
order when, alone, and surrounded by the doubt and dismay of the times,
he came forward in 1866-67 to pledge his faith in the future of the city to
be founded. He probably built wiser than he wot of, for to the success of
his venture the entire State of Alabama owes an ' industrial revival
unsurpassed in the Union. The incalculable wealth in iron matured
and ere now reposing in invincible supremacy in Pennsylvania is menaced,
and has learned to turn with anxious inquiry to the growth of the enter-
prise Josiah Morris was among the earliest to lift up in the neglected
forests of Alabama.
The bank of Josiah Morris & Co. has been of essential aid to the
State of Alabama in its efforts to rectify great financial errors of manage-
ment in the period of revolution from 1866 to 1876.
In association with others he has secured for Montgomery the loca-
tion of the State Agricultural and Horticultural Fair, by donating to the
Association which manages it the splendid grounds, some forty acres,
necessary for the buildings and race tracks.
Initial In/ltiences. 165
JAMES R. POWELL,
"duke of BIRMINGHAM."
The year 18 18, before Alabama had been admitted into the Union, a
tall, fair-skin youth, yet in his teens, rode out, a solitary horseman, from his
native county in Virginia into the interior of the wilderness of the Ala-
bama territory. This was the beginning of a long life of adventure and
•enterprise spent in Alabama by James R. Powell. He was a man of most
varied talents and most indomitable energy. He literally sat by the cradle
■of one civilization in his adopted home ; saw it flourish like a green bay
tree; saw the forest fall in every county with astonishing rapidity, and the
fertile new-cleared fields spring up in wealth ; saw the rivers float the most
magnificent steamers, laden with the riches of the earth and the chivalry and
culture of a matchless society ; saw all this mature and fructify and decay,
and he followed it literally to the grave. Turning like a hero from the
dead past, James R. Powell, in even rank with the foremost, and with
.brighter vision and fiercer resolve than the multitude, led the way of
Alabama into the resurrection morn of her destiny.
Young Powell stopped first, on his ride into Alabama, at the little
hamlet, on the hills above the Alabama River, called Montgomery. His
faithful horse and less than ?20 in cash were all the available assets at his
command. He pursued his course from Montgomery into Lowndes, an
adjoining county. Soon he sold his horse and found occupation, perhaps
not regular or very remunerative. He became a contractor to carry the
horse mails. Later on he became a contractor to carry the mails by
passenger stage coach. He became, as was the law of prosperity in those
days, inevitably a cotton planter and a member of the legislature. His
passenger and mail-coach line so prospered that it reached a position of
serious competition with the line run by Robert Jemison, Esq., of Tus-
caloosa. Mr. Jemison was a gentleman of great wealth, industry, enter-
prise, and intelligence. The brave Powell met h>n on his own ground
and joined a relentless contest with him. Finally, after both had been
■depleted in this mad rivalry, they came to terms of union. The organization
became known as the stage line of Jemison, Powell, Ficklen & Co. It
traversed Alabama from border to border at every point of the compass.
Colonel Powell did not raise a regiment and enter the field when the
war opened, as may have been expected of so earnest a worker ; nor did he
-become a soldier at any time during its progress. He^remained at Mont-
1 66 Jefferson County.
gomery an active supporter of the military establishment of the Confederacy
in various practical ways. Gifted with rare powers of persuasion, he
exercised a marked influence in society, and directed this influence
in behalf of the Confederate cause. Some examples of this activity may
indicate the character of the man. When the great orator, William L.
Yancey, the acknowledged representative of the Southern zeal and motive,
returned from an unsuccessful mission to England in behalf of his Govern-
ment, Colonel Powell, knowing Mr. Yancey personally, and appreciating
his proud spirit and the personal distress which the rebuff his mission
had encountered across the seas had visited upon him, invited several
fellow-townsmen to unite with him in presenting the great statesman a
splendid horse, handsomely accoutred, for the promotion of his health and
amusement in his favorite exercise of riding. Mr. Yancey wrote a
beautiful and eloquent expression of his gratitude to his neighbors and
friends. The first name on the list of donors was James R. Powell.
Slander is many tongued and exhaustless in resources, hence this act of
private and neighborly esteem for a public servant was industriously
poisoned to the public ear. It was promptly announced by partisan foes
of the statesman that the citizens of his city of abode had sent around to
his residence, before breakfast, a fully-equipped war horse, with a sug-
gestion that he should take the field to combat for his principles ! Mr.
Yancey had been unanimously elected by the Alabama Legislature to
the Confederate Senate. He had sent three sons, only one of the
number being a man, into the Confederate army.
Another characteristic incident of Colonel Powell's services to the
Confederacy may be noted with propriety. When, in the winter of 1863,
the Alabama River was found sheeted with ice, a phenomenon of so rare
occurrence that few, if any, of the citizens had ever before witnessed it.
Colonel Powell promptly bent every available resource at his command to
harvest the priceless crop. The ports of the Confederacy were effectually
closed to importations of the article and artificial ice was then unknown.
When the wind veered around and the accustomed climate of the latitude
began to melt the coating over the river, so successful had Colonel Powell's
ice harvest appeared that he was offered $40,000 for it. He refused to
entertain any proposition of sale, but presented the whole supply to the
Confederate Army Hospital Department, for use in Georgia and Alabama
hospitals for soldiers.
During the war Colonel Powell purchased a large area of cotton lands
on the Yazoo River, Mississippi. Immediately after hostilities ceased he
began to hire labor to cultivate these lands. He made a contract with a
Initial Influences. 167
young gentleman of great enterprise, John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina,
grandson of the famous statesman, to operate these rich cotton planta-
tions.
The scheme attracted wide attention and created no small adverse
comment in some parts of the older Cotton States. Mr. Calhoun appointed
agents to collect select negro laborers in several parts of South Carolina
and in Alabama. The planters were very much in earnest in their efforts
to make cotton at fifty cents per pound. Soon Colonel Powell's example
excited many other similar efforts. The Lower Mississippi Valley drew
to it thousands of the best trained labor of the older plantations
which could not be replaced. This loss was keenly felt by the planters
who lost the labor, much of which had been born and bred on their lands,
and which they had believed to be as fixed as the land itself in their ser-
vice. No increase of wages or increase of shares in the crops to be grown
could avail to stop the exodus until those who had gone out first began to
return with information of the hard work, sickly climate, and strange
experiences they had encountered as emigrants.
The enterprise of Colonel Powell in colonizing his lands on the Yazoo
River was in the line of that leadership which ever distinguished the man.
The step was well adapted to the prevailing conditions. Its execution
touched harshly upon the sensibilities of the planters who had never been
before compelled to enter the market to compete for the privilege of hiring
" hands." But Colonel Powell had the sagacity to realize first in his class
a legitimate opportunity which all land owners must seek in course of brief
time ; that is, that under the new era labor must be free to hire itself.
Colonel Powell came to Birmingham soon after the railroad crossing
had been fixed which was to determine the site of the town. On the
organization of the Elyton Land Company he became its first president.
There was much work to be done through the influence of this corpo-
ration, which was of a widely different character from the work now falling
to it. To found a city, in the wilderness of a State fresh from the devasta-
tions visited upon it by the Federal Government, and which was, at the very
period of Colonel Powell's accession to the presidency of the new corpora-
tion, governed most disastrously by aliens and negroes, was his task. The
founder must himself receive the " pardon " of his Government to become
a citizen of the town of his own building. The city to be built must depend
upon lines of transportation, then so feeble that, as to one, the Alabama &
Chattanooga, it was shackled by law suits, and no regular trains or regular
traffic existed over the line. The South & North had not been completed,
and its completion was either doubtful or certain of delays and difficulties.
1 68 Jefferso7i County.
Even so late as 1875, five years after the organization of the Elyton Land
Company and the initiation of its efforts to build the city of Birmingham,
the people of Alabama, upon meeting in convention to deliberate and
frame a new constitution for the State, sent one forth to be ratified, and
which was ratified by a very great majority of the popular vote, which
actually omitted all provision for the proper government of a new city.
No general impression had, as late as 1875, taken possession of the popular
mind in Alabama that the venture of the Elyton Land Company would
materialize into respectable proportions. The cities of Alabama and many
of the counties, and the State in the aggregate, had been enormously
oppressed by debts voted upon the taxpayers by the non-taxpayers. The
new constitution was framed in the interest of reform in the taxing feature
of government. Thus cities were prohibited, by one of its provisions, from
laying a heavier tax for municipal purposes than one-quarter of i per cent,
of the assessed value of their property. The assessed value of Birmingham
property was so low that, under this limitation, it was seen to be imprac-
ticable that the city should perform many municipal acts necessary to its
growth and efficient self-government.
These obstructive conditions were fully known to the president of the
Elyton Land Company. They did not for an instant damp his ardor or
slacken his persistency. The iron ores, analyzed, were found to be near
by in unexampled profusion. The coal seams had been tested and
proven. The great agricultural regions to the North and the South
were distant less than a half day's journey by rail. The forests all around
Red Mountain were rich in timber. The lime quarries had long turned
out the best product in their line. The stone for building, the clay for the
brick kiln, were in sight. The immeasurable wealth of the marble fields of
the adjoining counties of Bibb and Talladega was known and duly treas-
ured in the general estimate.
Colonel Powell's nature rose to the exigencies of the occasion. He
carried no morbid sentiment into this, his supreme opportunity. He saw
plainly into the political future and reasoned deeper than the accidents of
the situation in Alabama. Revolutions in government must need make
changes in the habits of the people. The South had been happy under
industrial and social conditions, which had passed away forever. Must
that great change forever debar the South from recuperation? Colonel
Powell answered this fearful inquiry in the negative, and his tones took
volume from the emotions of his heart and from the vigor of his intellect :
' ' Ye;s, we may pass over in sorrow and in silence the depths of the dark-
ness that is in man if we rejoice in the purer visions he has attained to. "■
Initial Lifluences. 169
Unconscious of his own powers, however, yet in obedience to an enthu-
siasm which underlies heroism in all forms, Colonel Powell worked steadily
to the light he saw ahead, and wavered not a moment in his confidence.
Colonel Powell became President, as we have said, of the Elyton Land
Company at its organization, and held the office until 1875, when Dr.
Caldwell was elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by his resignation.
Under his administration the water works were built, which now (1887)
are sufficient for 40,000 population. The completion of the works gave
character to the city. It proved the faith of the company in its venture.
It was not possible, indeed, to attract capital without them. The hercu-
lean task was appreciated by the president of the company before he
resolved to undertake the construction of them, but he entered upon the
responsibility, as he had entered upon all others in his previous eventful
career, after earnest deliberation and with the courage of his convictions.
We have shown that upon the completion of the water works the com-
pany was wholly without funds to meet its bonds issued as collateral on
the loan received to pay for them. The course of Colonel Powell in this
emergency had its due influence upon the continued Hfe of the company.
After the untimely death of the first mayor, R. H. Henley, Colonel
Powell was elected to succeed him. There were four competitors for the
mayoralty at the election which chose him, and he received a small
majority over the combined vote of the other three. He still retained
his presidency of the land company. Under his direction only, when
president of the land company, Major Barker, an accomplished engi-
neer, laid off the streets, avenues, and alleys of the city. Under his
advice the land company made donations to the public of the streets,
avenues, and alleys ; to the city the parks ; to the railroads the wide
reservation bisecting the city from east to west ; to the churches the lots
on which to build houses of worship. His was the directing mind, shap-
ing the policy on the widest, most liberal, and politic ground. He gave
his salary as mayor to the public schools. He invited capital and labor
to come here and locate. He advertised the iron and coal resources of
the surrounding country in every part of the United States and in Europe.
His enthusiastic zeal knew no bounds, and so influential had become his
position that he was generally known in Alabama by the sobriquet,
" Duke of Birmingham."
One of the most sagacious strokes of policy adopted by Colonel
Powell, in his ceaseless efforts to publish to the world the fact that the
Elyton Land Company had enlisted in the enterprise of building a city at
the base of Red Mountain, occurred in his successful connection with the
1 70 Jefferson Coicnty.
Alabama Press Association. He invited the association to meet at Bir-
mingham at its annual spring convention of 1873. At this meeting he
was elected an honorary member. Admitted to the floor, he made a
motion that the convention select Birmingham as the place for holding the
next succeeding convention. The motion was stoutly opposed, but pre-
vailed. Colonel Powell then proposed that the New York State Press
Association, which would convene in annual session about the time of the
meeting of the Alabama Association, should be invited here. This was
a bold proposition and fell like a bomb into the meeting. The New York
press had by a large majority supported the Grant Administrations in de-
posing the Southern State governments, and had approved of the latest
suppression of a democratic legislature in the capitol of Alabama.
Amid no small excitement this motion prevailed also, and the invitation
was sent forward.
In the spring of 1874, the year following Black Friday and the
cholera visitation to Birmingham, the meeting of the two associations
occurred as had been agreed upon. Colonel Powell placed before the
joint bodies all the information at his command favorable to the prospects
of the new city, then appearing, for causes we have mentioned, in its most
unpromising aspect. He showed the guests the ore deposits, the coal
seams, and the authentic analysis of both ores and coal. The vast
deposits and the seams could be readily seen with the naked eye, and
their value understood. At once the press of New York, metropolitan
and provincial, was ablaze with accounts, written direct from Birmingham,
revealing the marvelous discoveries the letter-writers had made. Their
reports were republished throughout the Union and in Europe. It was
after reading these that Hon. Abram S. Hewitt, of New York, exclaimed:
" The fact is plain. Alabama is to be the iron manufacturing center of
the habitable globe."
During the ravages of the cholera in the summer of 1873 Colonel
Powell remained at his post, nursed the sick, and maintained order. The
citizens presented him, as a testimonial of their esteem, a beautiful pocket
knife of many blades, manufactured in England to their order, and at a
cost of $130.
In 1874 Colonel Powell retired from Birmingham to his cotton plan-
tations on the Yazoo. He yet owned large and valuable real estate
in Montgomery.
In 1S78 he was invited to return to Birmingham to canvass for re-elec-
tion to the mayoralty. The solicitation was granted. After a campaign
of much acrimony and activity he was defeated by a workingman. The
>6 k ^
Initial hifluenccs. 171
defeat was bitterly resented by Colonel Powell. He made immediate
arrangements to contest the election, but his contest was fruitless. He
had aged, and misfortunes had thrown him out of the current of influence.
The very forces he had been so influential in introducing had become too
strong to be controlled by him.
Returning to his plantations on the Yazoo, he met death from a pistol
shot at the hands of a beardless youth in a neighboring tavern in the fall
of 1SS3.
Colonel Powell had ever been a temperate man in his habits. Great
energy, strong will, clear judgment of men and affairs, ready resources,
and a kindly heart were the features of character which distinguished him.
* In his later years his temper had become more imperious than the
new elements of society which had overcome the South would well tol-
erate. When he ran for mayor last in Birmingham he brought less con-
ciliation and sympathy to bear than an apparent assertion of authority
and right to demand the office.
The youth, who fired the shot which ended his life, slayed a gray-
haired man who could not moderate a sense of injustice offered to his
superior rights on the occasion.
HENRY MARTIN CALDWELL,
PRESIDENT ELYTON LAND COMPANY.
We have seen that the Elyton Land Company, having established a
domicil, in the fields and forests, comprising several thousand acres of
Jones Valley, proceeded to mark off lots along the streets and avenues
of the promised city. Extraordinary invitation could alone be relied
upon to bring immigrants to build upon the lots, and there to wait for
successive evidences of the correctness of the judgment of the company
which had brought them here. The Elyton Land Company had neces-
sarily to be as wise as the serpent and as harmless as the dove in its policy
of building up a city in the wilderness, a hundred miles from any other
organized settlement of five thousand people. It is true Red Mountain,
the coal fields and lime beds flanking it on either side for a hundred miles
of its length, lay in sight of the crossing of two trunk lines of railroad ; and
at the crossing it was proposed to build an iron manufacturing city. But
the State of Alabama, and every other State of the Union closely allied
with her in industrial and political sj-mpathies, had been latel}' denuded
172 Jefferson Coimty.
of nine-tenths of its capital and was practically without credit. Whence
would come the capital, whence the confidence equal to investment in a
new enterprise requiring management in which our people were wholly
unskilled ? Granted, that iron ores and the basic materials necessarj- for their
manufacture were here, whence would come the skilled labor to handle
them? Should these difficulties be overcome, what political influences
would be directed toward them ? Our State Government had well nigh
been bankrupted in the same years that the Elyton Land Company had
been organized. Thieves and aliens, ignorant knaves and knavish experts in
legislation, had seized the government at Montgomery, and in almost every
county, and had runup a State debt from $5,000,000 to S33, 000,000, besides
county and city indebtedness of unknown and incalculable dimensions.
Should there be no hidden fate, to consume the bud of promise for the
plans of the company in these things, and should good iron be made here,
would hostile Federal legislation be encountered by it, or hostile transpor-
tation regulations impair its natural rights and powers of competition?
Were these idle questions ? Does not even now a wide-spread misappre-
hension prevail in distant States that the success of our furnacemen is
largely founded on abnormally cheap labor, and that the price of labor in
Alabama is a National political question? It is not to be denied that the
promoters of the effort to found a city, in sight of the most wonderful iron
deposits and coke-making coal seams in the United States, were resting
under serious menace from various extraneous public influences, so late
as ten years ago.
The city of Birmingham has now passed the crucial test of its right
to a foundation and a history. But it had not always been sunshine with
it. There have been days of doubt when the result was hidden in the
clouds, and when the bravest so understood it.
The project of the Elyton Land Company, if executed, evidently
required men of rare qualifications to direct it. There was not alone the
task of building a city in the wilderness before the company, but the fur-
ther task of encouraging the growth of a new line of industry in the face
of great prejudices, some at home and others abroad.
Dr. Henry Martin Caldwell became second in o'rder of the Presidents
of the Elyton Land Company in the year 1875. Mr. Josiah Morris-
influence originally led to his selection, and the affairs of the company
have been entirely committed to his administration. When Dr. Caldwell
took the office it was without salary virtually. He has been annually
reelected, and his salary has been increased on several different occasions
without demand from him. Had he received from the company the usual
hiitial Influences. 173
commissions charged by real estate agencies, on the sales made by him for
the company in the months of August or October, 1886, he would have
pocketed the moderate fortune of ^50,000 or better for each month. Dr.
Caldwell sells, in person, all the lots offered by the company, and selects
the lots to be offered. He lays the plans, which the General Manager^
Major Milner, carries forward to completion with such unvarying success.
Dr. Caldwell was born in the village of Greenville, Butler County,
Alabama, in 1836. He grew up there, received a good education, and in his
twenty-first year graduated in medicine at the celebrated University of
Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Following the profession at home, after
the usual routine of a young country doctor, in a prosperous community
where slavery prevailed, he was fully imbued with the politics which
matured into the formation of the Confederacy. He entered the medical
department of the army, and until the end of the war served partly in the
field with the Thirty-third Alabama Infantry, and partly at various posts.
Dr. Caldwell is undoubtedly in a position of the highest commanding
influence in Alabama. He determines to a greater degree than any one
man in the State what shall be the influence of Birmingham. He controls
the market prices of 4,000 acres of land in and near the city. The cease-
less activity of the selling market, and the uninterrupted policy of the
company in holding the market open to purchasers, is sufficient assertion<
of the liberality and wisdom of its course.
Dr. Caldwell is thoroughly in earnest in his attachment to Bir-
mingham. He is a large individual property holder in the city and its
suburbs. He is President of the Caldwell Hotel Company, now engaged
in erecting a first-class hotel. In order to provide the most eligible site
for this beautiful structure he subscribed to its stock the lot on which his
handsome private residence then stood, besides making the largest indi-
vidual cash subscription to the project. He is a projector of the Belt
Railroad and of various private enterprises. He is also a director of the
First National Bank of Birmingham, of the Williamson Iron Company,
and of the Birmingham Iron Works.
Dr. Caldwell married in early life, and has established two sons in
active business in Birmingham. He is too busy to accept public office,
but possesses qualifications, in fluency of speech and breadth of view, to-
become a political force should ambition in that line tempt him.
We have so minutely given the history of the Elyton Land Company
in the years of Dr. Caldwell's administration of its affairs, and his career
is so comprehended in that history, that, without unprofitable ratiocina-
tion, we need only to remark on the inseparable alliance of the two themes.
1 74 Jefferson County.
Dr. Caldwell lives in a central position in the city of the Elyton Land
Company, in the easy style of a Southern gentleman of means and educa-
tion. He walks to his office after early breakfast and labors faithfully all
day. His manners are unostentatious, as those of a well-bred and self-
respecting gentleman, and he may be seen overlooking the smallest details
of a large and varied business, within and without doors, at any hour of
daylight. His example of temperance, energy, prudence, and fidelity is
a good one to younger men, and to all men who come to Birmingham to
labor and to wait.
Mrs. Dr. Caldwell is a sister of the Secretary and Treasurer of the
Elyton Land Company, Major Milner.
Mr. John T. Milner, the most distinguished civil engineer of Ala-
bama, and who was Chief Engineer of the South & North Railroad, mar-
ried Dr. Caldwell's sister. Circuit Judge John K. Henry married another
sister, and Samuel B. Otts a third.
John C. Caldwell, the father of Dr. Caldwell, was a native of North
Carolina, and Elizabeth Black, his wife, and the mother of Dr. Caldwell,
was a native of South Carolina. Early in the settlement of Alabama by
whites. John C, the father, came with his young wife to live in Greenville.
There his children were born ; there fortune attended him as merchant
and cotton planter. In 1870 he died, and in the year following the com-
panion, who had come to share with him the lot of immigrants into the
Indian wilds followed him to the last resting place.
Dr. Caldwell is a member of the Order of Free and Accepted Masons.
He and his wife are both members and active supporters of the First
Presbyterian Church of Birmingham. To him was intrusted the duty of
procuring the plans from the architect for the large and costly church now-
being built by that congregation.
WILLIS J. MILNER,
THE GENERAL M.ANAGER OF THE ELYTON LAND COMPANY.
The execution of a policy laid out b}- a great corporation, whose plans
are never beneath its ability to conceive and support, must always fall upon
one responsible head. Wisdom in council consists not alone in devising
schemes and voting the means, but also in finding the single executor for
their practical inauguration and continued prosperity in operation. Execu-
tive tact, which is courageous enough to accept an original outline from
Initial hifliiences. 177
the projector of its plans, and honest enough to make them its own, is the
indispensable element of corporate strength. It is the motive power which
determines all questions of utility of agents and economy of means. It
is the helm to direct the course of the ship which other hands have built
and laden with resources.
Among the first steps toward organization made by the Elyton Land
Company was the appointment of the subject of this sketch to be its
Secretary and Treasurer. He has held that office continuously since, and
is now its General Manager. The history of the company is a material
part of the biography of the Secretary and Treasurer.
Major Milner is a native of Pike County, Georgia, where he was born
May 3, 1842, of Georgia-born parents. He is the youngest of six chil-
dren born to Willis J. and Mary A. Milner, nee Turner. Subsequently
the father and mother moved to Greenville, Butler County, one of the
lower tier of counties of Alabama, where first the father died in 1864, the
mother following, in Birmingham, in 1879.
The father had led a life of enterprise. In Georgia he had been a
railroad contractor and gold miner. The son had been placed at Mercer
University, Georgia, and had entered into the course of the junior class
when the enthusiasm of the revolution of 1861 swept over the South with
resistless and matchess fervor. The college walls were deserted as if by
some inspired call from without. Young Milner, like the best students
in all Southern colleges, abandoned his studies for the field. His military
record began as first lieutenant of a company stationed in Escambia
County, Florida. There was no apparent opportunity open to this part of
the army for active service, and the college student had gone in for war on
a principle. War meant to him the battles which would bring quick and
certain results. To gratify his purpose he must escape from Escambia
County. Thus resolved, he resigned his commission and repaired to
Pensacola, enlisted as a private in the Clinch Rifles, a company of the 5th
Georgia infantry then stationed there. There was room in this zeal for
the office of future general manager of the most famous and influential
corporation of the whole reconstructed Confederacy.
After two years of the duty of private soldier in the field, marching
and fightkig on corn cakes, or roasting-ears, or rationless, as circumstances
prevailed of a favorable or unfavorable turn in the army commissary, our
subject was sent up to Company K., 33rd Alabama Infantry, as first lieu-
tenant commanding. A slight wound at Murfreesboro, and a more serious
one at Chickamauga, prepared the way for promotion. Adjutant Moore, of
the 33rd Alabama, fell at Chickamauga, and young Milner was appointed
178 Jejferso7t County.
to succeed him. His executive ability attracted attention, and he was again
promoted to the staff of Lowery's brigade of Cleburne's division, the
most famous in the army of Tennessee. Cleburne's division was thanked
by resolution of the Confederate Congress for saving Bragg's army from
annihilation at Missionary Ridge, an honor never conferred on any single
division of an army at any time before or since. Cleburne fell in the
bloodiest battle of the war at Franklin, Tennessee.
Upon the consolidation of the i6th and 33rd Alabama regiments of
infantry, Captain Milner was elected major of the new organization. At
the time of the surrender of the Confederate armies he was in command
of his regiment, because of the capture or fall of the colonel and lieuten-
ant-colonel.
Major Milner was paroled with the remnant of his command, and of
the armies of the Confederacy, not to fight against the Union until duly
exchanged.
Along with the remnant of the hosts who had engaged to support
a principle which had been overcome, he turned his attention to the
restoration and rehabiliment of his despoiled country. Penniless he made
his way to the home of his brother-in-law. Dr. Henry M. Caldwell, a
paroled Confederate surgeon, who had saved something from the wreck
prevailing. First as Dr. Caldwell's partner in a drugstore in Greenville,
and subsequently in various other responsible positions, he continued in
business in that town until his removal to Birmingham.
In October, 1865, Major Milner was married to Miss Gustrine C. Key,
only child of the late Dr. James F. Key, of Lowndes County. To this
happy union the husband attributes whatever of success may have attended
his efforts in fife. Though long an invalid and a great sufferer, Mrs. Mil-
ner has been a true and faithful wife and ever a noble example of woman-
hood. Her opinions are always sought, and her counsel and advice in
matters of grave importance valued far above those of any other living
mortal. Her judgment is rarely at fault and her intuitiv^e insight into
character remarkable.
In 1 87 1 Major Milner came to Birmingham as an employe of the
South & North Alabama Railroad Company, but soon after was made
secretary and treasurer of the Elyton Land Company, Colonel James R.
Powell being then president. When Dr. Caldwell succeeded to the
presidency of the Land Company Major Milner was retained in his office,
■ and, in addition, was made superintendent of the water works.
The business enterprise of Major Milner has by no means been lim-
ited to the arduous duties assigned him by the Elyton Land Company,
hiitial Influences. 1 79
Some view of the compass of these duties may be reached by recurring
to a few of them. The secretary and treasurer, being a practical civil
engineer, built the original waterworks of the company, costing ,g 100, 000.
The new water works of the company, involving the most elaborate par-
ticulars of the system of supplying water from mountain springs, seven to
ten miles distant, by means of reservoirs, aqueducts, filterers, pumps, and
distributing channels, is entirely under his control. The street-railway
system of the com.pany, covering many miles and including the manage-
agement of Lakeview Park, is also under his control.
Major Milner is in business on his own account, and very successfully
engaged. He is owner of valuable real estate, improved and unimproved.
He is the senior member of a firm of iron and brass manufacturers.
One of the most important and interesting features of his enterprise
is the Belt Railroad. This line, now being constructed, is a project of his.
It is owned by a company, but is managed by him. Its name implies its
object. It encircles the city, and will find employment in switching off
loaded freight cars from trains entering the city from distant points, and
unloading them at convenient points to consignees of their contents.
Major and Mrs. Milner are communicants of the Church of the
Advent (Protestant Episcopal), Birmingham. They are the parents of
-one son and one daughter.
At a recent meeting of the directory of the Elyton Land Company
the salary of its secretary and treasurer was ordered doubled, and this in
the middle of the year, for which the original amount had been fixed and
accepted, and without any suggestion frcmi him.
Major Milner is a Mason in high standing with his order.
DANIEL SHIPMAN TROY,
THE LEGAL ADVISOR OF THE ELYTON LAND COMPANY.
Colonel Troy has lived an active and enterprising career, and fsw
Southerners are more typical of the culture and manhood the section pro-
motes than he. He is prompt, decided, and energetic in business, liberal
in views, and generous to his opponents in action. He makes leisure a
part of his right, and enjoys it for its own sake> Travel, society, polite
literature, and domestic enjoyment are so interwoven with work, politics
and religion as to round off the years with pleasure, both physical and
intellectual.
I So Jefferson County.
A resident of the capital of the State, a hundred miles from the
scenes we particularly describe, Colonel Troy has been, from a very early
day in the rise and growth of Birmingham, an active and increasing
factor. Hence here stands his name to represent his fair works.
In the generation which lived next before the revolt of the American
colonies the ancestors of Colonel Troy immigrated into Pennsylvania from
Ireland. The grandfather had come down to North Carolina when the
war broke out, and took his stand in the struggle of the patriots. In
North Carolina Alexander was born, and there married Frances Shipman,
and these were the parents of Daniel S., the youngest born of nine chil-
dren. On October 9, 1832, Daniel was born in Columbus County, North
Carolina.
Alexander Troy was a leading lawyer of his native State, and an
active politician on the Whig side of the issues of his day. He held the
office of State Attorney for twenty-five years. It is related that the
majority of voters called to pass upon his aspirations for public honors
were Democrats, opposed to his own party on practical public questions ;
nevertheless, so eminently satisfactory were Mr. Troy's services that both
parties agreed to retain them by keeping him in the office. He had, in
North Carolina, a political opponent, ]\Ir. Simmons. Subsequently Sim-
mons came to Pike County, Alabama, and was sent to the legislature of
this State. Zebulon was then the name of the county seat of Pike.
Representative Simmons promptly made use of his influence in the legis-
lature to change the name, and, to honor his old competitor and rival,
chose Troy. The flourishing distributive point of the commerce of a
large agricultural community now represents the transformation of the
times, and boars with increasing fame the name of the father of Colonel
Troy.
The mother of Colonel Troy was of Welsh origin, and his maternal
grandfather was also a participant on the side of the patriots of North
Carolina in the Revolutionary war. The mother was a woman of marked
courage and energy. Having been left a widow with a large family when
Daniel was six years old, she managed to have all the children well edu-
cated, chiefly at home. During an entire summer Daniel and a brother
several years older went to school to each other at a country church near
the family residence. Daniel learned the Greek alphabet so as to hear his
elder brother recite his lessons in the Greek grammar, and took great
pleasure in requiring this elder brother " to get the lesson over again " if
he missed, well knowing that the mother at home would sustain either
one in exacting a full performance of duty by the other. When Daniel
Initial hifluences,
was a mere lad of fifteen he was left alone with his mother in the
management of the homestead plantation, and while conducting the farm
successfully, under his mother's direction, he pursued his studies without
any assistance whatever for two years, and during that time read most of
the Latin classics, and acquired a taste for English literature and specu-
lative philosophy which he has never lost. An extensive library of lit-
erary, religious, and philosophical works shows the wide range of his
intellectual recreations. His first appearance in an institution for the
education of young men was at Spring Hill College, near Mobile, in July,
1873. when, on the invitation of the faculty, he delivered an address to
the graduating class on " Common Sense."
Daniel S. Troy, in his eighteenth year, came to Cahaba, the old
capital of Alabama, and then the county seat of Dallas, the richest county
in the State. He began work as a clerk for his brother-in-law, William
Hunter, a lawyer. There he continued his studies of general literature
for a year longer, and then began the study of law. In his nineteenth
year he was admitted to the bar in the lower courts, and at the age of
twenty-two he was admitted to practice in the State Supreme Court.
In Cahaba, in 1855, he married Miss Lucy, a daughter of one of the
wealthy cotton planters of the State, Mr. Joel E. Mathews, and a lady of
rare character and accomplishments. She lived only a few months after
the marriage. In 1859 Colonel Troy was married to Florence L.,
daughter of Gov. Thomas H. Watts, of Montgomery, by whom he has
an interesting family of children.
In i860 Colonel Troy took up his abode in the city of Montgomery,
and since then has been an active participant in public affairs, and has
taken rank among the better class of lawyers. He owns an unpreten-
tious, but beautiful and admirably arranged home in the resident part o f
the city. He is a zealous Catholic. He was State Senator for eight
years, and among his reform measures was the railroad supervision law.
He was president of the Montgomery water works until its recent sale to
a new company. A year ago he established a new daily newspaper in
Montgomery, called the Dispatch, which has been conducted with marked
indepencVsnce and ability. He is also president of the Alabama Fertil-
izer Company, one of the most successful manufacturing enterprises of
the capital city. He abates no zeal in his law practice, however, and is
at the head'of one of the most successful legal firms in the State.
In 1862 Colonel Troy was made captain of one of the companies of
the Hilliard Legion, organized at Montgomery by the distinguished
statesman, and occasional pulpit orator, Henry W. Hilliard. In the
II
1 82 Jeffersoti County.
reorganization of a part of the Confederate army he was made Lieu-
tenant-Colonel of the Sixtieth Alabama Infantry. His campaigns, as
lieutenant-colonel, began in East Tennessee and Kentucky. At the battle
of Bean Station one-third of his regiment, on the field, were killed or
wounded.
Going into the Virginia campaign, under Longstreet, he was pain-
fully wounded at the affair at Bermuda Hundreds. On March 25th,
while in command of the Fifty-ninth Alabama, he was shot through one
lung, and left on the field for dead. Having been removed to Lincoln
Hospital, Washington City, he was well nursed and fully restored.
Colonel Troy's connection with Birmingham and the mineral interests
of Alabama has been, as we have said, highly influential.
In 1868 he became interested in the present Eureka Furnace Com-
pany, which operates two stacks at Oxmoor, six miles from the city of
Birmingham, with a capital stock paid up of g 1,000, 000. It was orig-
inally known as the " Red Mountain Iron & Coal Company." The com-
pany was reorganized, by Colonel Troy, under a new charter, and, at his
suggestion, the name of the place was changed to Oxmoor, in memory of
his father's North Carolina residence which bore that name.
Colonel Troy claims, with every apparent reason of propriet>', to
have secured the first correct analysis of the iron ores of Red Mountain
and the coal seams of the Cahaba district ever made.
In 1873 he became attorney for the Elyton Land Company, no doubt
owing the appointment, in part, to the influence of Mr. Josiah Morris, the
largest stockholder, and. his fellow-townsman and friend. His legal
advice has been of incalculable service to the company, and may be said
to control largely its policy. He is a considerable stockholder, his stock
being worth a very handsome fortune in itself. He has an orange grove
and winter home on Lake Harris, in South Florida, where he spends,
with his family, the coldest of the winter months. This place he has also
named " Oxmoor," and nothing more beautiful can be found in the coun-
try of oranges than the scene which greets the eye from the various
piazzas of this broad one-story house. High rolling lands, a silver lake,
islands, cypress, long moss, and the bright green orange trees and golden
fruit in the foreground combine to make a picture lovely beyond the
power of language to express.
Initial Influences. 183
THE BIRMINGHAM WATER WORKS.
A NOBLE CON'CEPTION A MOUNTAIN LAKE AND PLEASURE RESORT.
In November, 1872, the Elyton Land Company began the construc-
tion of a system of water works more than adequate then for the wants
of the infant city. These works were continued during 1873 and
1874, small additions being made in the latter year. On the ist of
January, 1875, the works consisted of one small Worthington steam
pump, about four and a half miles of mains, and one service reservoir
with a capacity of about one million gallons, the whole costing about
|i6o,ooo. The history of these works since that date has been one of
continual growth by means of extensions and alterations, until what
remains of the original plant constitutes a very small proportion of the
works existing at present. The source of supply remains the same, viz :
Village Creek, two miles north of the city, though, as will be seen further
along, new works are in process of construction looking to the abandon-
ment of this source as a supply. The g6o,ooo invested in the water
works at the time referred to came near bankrupting the Elyton Land
■Company. To raise this sum the company had executed sundry notes,
maturing at short intervals, hoping to realize from the sale of lots a
sufficient amount to meet them. Failing in this, its anxious creditors
sued upon the notes, obtained judgment, and levied upon the company's
property. Its stock went down to seventeen cents on the dollar, and
more than one of the stockholders became alarmed on account of the
"personal liability" clause in the company's charter, which made each
stockholder liable for the debts of the company equal to the amount of
his stock. Even the desk of the secretary and the other office furniture
were levied upon by these clamorous creditors, and the struggles of the
company for existence during all this period of depression would make
an interesting chapter in the Hght of succeeding events, but it is not
pertinent to the present purpose. In 1879-80 large extensions of mains
were made to reach the Alice furnace and the rolling mills. The conse-
quent increased consumption called for a larger pump main to the reser-
voir and an additional pump, which were added in 1881. The rapid
growth of the city following, in 1882, called for still further pumping
capacity, which was accordingly doubled by the purchase of another
Blake engine, a duplicate of the one already in use.
184 Jefferson County.
In the same year a new reservoir was constructed and the old one
enlarged, thereby trebling the capacity of the service reservoirs.
In 1866 the pump main was again found to be insufficient to the
demand upon it, as were also the supply mains in the city. The former
was, therefore, replaced by a twenty-inch main, and the latter doubled
by additions.
In his annual report to the stockholders in January, 1881, the super-
intendent of the water works again called attention to the necessity of
looking for an additional supply of water, and was authorized to make
some examinations to that end. These examinations being made, further
authority was given in 1882 to purchase certain lands needed for the
additional supply. The plans then outlined are now being put into
execution.
Five-Mile Creek heads in the mountains to the north-eastward of the
pumping station, having its source in numerous crystal springs situated
from eight to twelve miles from the city, and drains a water-shed of about
twenty square miles. At the poin>t where this stream cuts through the
ridge, known opposite the city by the various names of ' ' Reservoir
Ridge," "Cemetery Ridge," and "Fountain Heights," numerous valleys
converge to a common outlet. At this point, designed and prepared by
nature, is to be constructed an artificial
Mountain Take,
in which to store the sparkling waters of those springs, and of the water-
shed supplying them. This is done by the construction of a dam fifty-five
feet high, and of an average length of six handred feet, across the valley
at the point named. The lake thus formed will be nearly two miles ia
length, covering an area of about two hundred and twenty-five acres,
with a volume of fifteen hundred million gallons of pure water. The
contour of the lake follows the meandering course of the valleys, broad
here, there almost bisected by the closing-in spurs of the moimtains, an
island uprisen now, yomder a peninsula, long and narrow, pointing out,
and again a bayou deep into the slmdes of the overhanging cliffs.
It does no violence to the imagination to picture upon this calm
bosom gay gcfridolas and white-winged yachts, affording joyous relaxation
to the thousands, who will doubtless throng its shore-e, transported up tke
valley by dummy li»es of street railway rfinning into the heart of the
city; or, passing over a macadamized public highway in pleas,ure carriages.
From this reservoir the water will flow by gravity through a canal, with
Initial Infliietices. 185
an inclination of about one in twenty-five hundred, a distance of
nearly six miles to the present pumping station, where it will be
delivered into another reservoir containing several days' supply. The
present pumping machinery will be utilized, as far as it may go, in elevating
the water thence into the service reservoirs. Another house of ornate
appearance artd ample capacity is to be built to receive another engine,
already contracted for, to be delivered in May next. This engine is to
be of the latest and most improved design, made by the Dean Steam
Pump Works, of Holyoke, Mass., and is to be capable of delivering
seven million gallons in twenty-four hours. The present reservoirs are to
be enlarged, and another constructed on the Highlands. There will be
also a high service pumping station and reservoir for a supply to the
Highlands, so arranged as to give, within the city, the pressure due to the
higher reservoir, in case of fire, simply by closing one valve and opening
another.
Major Willis J. Milner, the Secretarj^ and Treasurer of the El}ton
Land Company, since its early days, and always serving it most intelli-
gently and devotedly, is the projector of this admirable water-supply
system. Under his personal superintendence it is being constructed.
When completed it will be one of the most effective measures, for
furnishing pure water to a city population, in the United States.
J. W. SLOSS.
In 1877 Colonel Sloss saw a man on the mountain side, some six
miles north-west of Birmingham, digging a hole in the ground. His
attention was arrested by the lumps of coal thrown out. From this
unexpected and obscure beginning sprang the enterprise now known as
the Pratt Mines, and which, in its full connections, carries an invested
capital of some $4,000,000. It was Colonel Sloss who originated the
scheme of opening the mines.
Colonel Sloss is a native of Limestone County, Alabama, and is now
in full tide of an influential and successful career. He has always lived
in Alabama, and has been a leading factor in great enterprises.
A few years before the revolution of 1860-61 Alabama had chartered
the railroad we have spoken of as the Central Road ; also had chartered
a road to run from some point on the Tennessee River in a northerly course
to the line dividing this State from the State of Tennessee. The northern
division of the road was run with one terminus at Decatur, crossinsr the
1 86 Jefferson County.
Memphis & Charleston Road at that place, and the other at the State
line, in due course toward Nashville. This northern division had been
completed just as the war opened. Colonel Sloss was president of the
road.
The division now known as the South & North Road was not com-
pleted until after the war — not until 1872, the last spike being driven at
Blount Springs.
The State had granted aid to these roads from the 3 per cent, fund,
and from the Government lands a grant of each alternate section had been
made, aggregating about 500,000 acres. These grants, however, have
been practically valueless.
After the war, the two roads were placed under the presidency of
Colonel Sloss, and are yet continued under him, as a part of the Louis-
ville & Nashville system.
Colonel Sloss has undoubtedly earned title to a most successful
individual enterprise in originating and directing transportation, mining,
and manufacturing interests in Alabama. He organized the Sloss Furnace
Company, operating two large stacks in the suburbs of Birmingham, and
owning forty-eight miles long of Red Mountain ore, 20,000 acres of brown
hematite, 15,000 acres of coal lands, two extra fine large stone quarries,
and valuable sand deposits. This matchless undeveloped property, with
the stacks, has been recently sold to Birmingham, Richmond, and New
York capitalists for $2,000,000. It probably did not cost the Sloss Fur-
nace Company over $500,000, including the furnaces.
His residence in Birmingham, though plain, is commodious and com-
fortable, in sympathy with his unpretending habits, and surrounded by
extensive grounds. Being a gentleman of culture and refinement, his
services are demanded by society. He is an active member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church South, and Superintendent of a Sunday school.
He was president, at one session, of the Alabama division of the Lake
De Funiak Chautauqua Association.
With the sale of the furnaces, established and managed by him, Col-
onel Sloss has retired from active business. He assists in the inaugura-
tion, nevertheless, of new enterprises intended to promote the growth of
Birmingham.
Initial Influe7ices. 187
HENRY F. DeBARDELEBEN.
Mr. DeBardeleben is a native of Autauga County, Alabama. There
he married the only daughter of Daniel Pratt, a New Englander, who
came to that county a young man and became the founder of large man-
ufacturing industries, fifty years ago, whose influence has been felt in every
part tf the South.
lV;r. DeBardeleben has been a prime mover in the chief mining and
iron manufacturing industries which, in the earher developments, gave
fame to Jefferson County.
Artong them are the Eureka and Alice and Mary Pratt Blast Fur-
naces, tie Pratt Coal Mines and the Henry-Ellen Coal Mines.
In tie year 1886 Mr. DeBardeleben organized a company to found
the city (f Bessemer, some twelve miles south-west of Birmingham, on
the Alabima Great Southern Railroad. Two blast furnaces of large
capacity lave been built there, a large area for the site of the city has
been purnased, and encouragement to iron manufactures offered.
Mr. DeBardeleben has been, and is now, conspicuously a leader
among thegreat enterprises originating in Jefferson County, and is prob-
ably the lagest capitalist in the county.
He bult for himself a beautiful three-story brick residence in the city,
where, witl his family, he entertains much of the local society of the city
and the vis:ors coming here.
ROBERT H. HENLEY,
FIRST MAYOR.
The ppulation of Birmingham, when the city charter was granted,
was not of hat patriotic class which the president and directory of the
Elyton Lad Company, and others of the more "solid men," considered
to be trustworthy to act the part of suffragists to determine the degree of
law and orer proper to be preserved, or to be endowed with the right of
selecting tk officers to direct city affairs.
The Gvernor, therefore, by request of the more prominent people
of the yang town, appointed Robert H. Henley, a young man of
perhaps fenty-six years of age, and the son-in-law of Major Thomas
Peters, to;he mayoralty. There was much disappointment among those
1 88
Jcffa
Co7inf]
who had planned to elect a mayor of a different type. The mayor, thus
appointed, promptly assumed the office, and administered it with grea:
vigor, good judgment, and decision. His conduct contributed much to
enforce order in the interest of the fair name of the cit}-, and endeared
him to the people.
Mr. Henley resigned, on account of ill health, after one )-ear's ser\ice.
He was a native of Demopolis, Marengo County, and his father, John W.
Henley, was one of the most brilliant lawyers of one of the most wealthy
circuits of the State. The mayor had edited in Elyton, and later in
Birmingham, a weekly newspaper of marked ability and force, du'ing a
trying political crisis in the State, called the Sun.
Mr. Henley died in Savannah, Ga., where he had gone fcr rest.
His remains were brought to Birmingham, and interred with distinjuished
public honors in the city cemetery. He had said he wanted lo other
epitaph on his tomb than " Here lies the First Mayor of Birminglam."
-..—»' «,.».....>.../..( • ,..,■».«■«...,„„ „.».„.»n.«.i^,.»..^«,.-..«...^.^..,..,..,.......«^.^.,<...
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M«/>
'B<Vm(';^^l^&m.
Its City Government — Its Growth — Its Industrial, Social, and
Religious Life.
THE MEN WHO LIVE AND LABOR TO PROMOTE ITS FAME—
THE RECORD OF THEIR WORK.
CHAPTER VIII.
CiTV Government.
Robert H. Henley, a young man of handsome person and courage-
ous nature, a native of Demopolis, Marengo County, was appointed first
Mayor of Birmingham by Governor R. B. Linusay. He went into
office December 21, 1871, and to hold until first Monday in January,
1873. His health failed and he resigned before the expiration of his
term.
The city officers under the Henley administration were: Mayor, R.
H. Henley; Aldermen, James B. Francis, B. F. Roden, W. J. McDon-
ald, A. Marre, J. B. Webb, John A. Milner, T. S. Woods. William
Alexander, from Eutaw, was City Clerk ; James McConnell was Treasurer;
IQO Jefferson County.
O. D. Williams was Marshal, or Chief of Police, and the other police-
men were Robert Bailey and H. Clay Atkins.
The mayor himself volunteered his services as policeman should^
occasion require it in those crude times of organization.
The Powell Administration.
Colonel James R. Powell, the President of the Elyton Land Com-
pany, was second in order of the mayors. He was elected, with con-
siderable opposition, on the first Monday in January, 1873.
The officers of this administration were : Mayor, James R. Powell ;
Aldermen, J. B. Luckie, M. H. Jordan, W. H. Morris, B. F. Ro(5en,
John A. Milner, James O'Connor, C. F. Enslen, and F. P. O'Brien.
O'Brien soon resigned, and Charles Linn was put in his place. J. B.
Francis was Treasurer. R. B. Ryan, E. K. Fulton, V. H. Milner, and
E. V. Gregory successively held the city clerk's office. W. G. Oliver
was Marshal, and E. G. Taylor, A. Robinson, and Robert Bailey were
Policemen. There were for extra police service in 1873 W. L. Cantelou,
Jule Wright, James Armstrong, William Harris, J. D. Lykes, M.
Hagerty, William Clay, J. L. Ellison, W. W. Coxe, and John Coxe.
There were a few changes in the police force of 1874.
J. J. Jolly was made City Attorney in 1874.
The Morris Administration
came into office January 4, 1875. The officers were: Mayor, W. H.
Morris; Aldermen, C. E. Slade, William Berney. W. A. Smith, J. R.
Hochstadter, J. L. Lockwood, J. B, Fonville, W. P. Brewer, and A. C.
Oxford.
In this administration the ordinances of the town were codified by E.
L. Clarkson, Esq.
Second Morris Administration.
The election was held December 4, 1876, the legislature having
ordered the change of date. Mayor, W. H. Morris ; Aldermen, C. E.
Slade, Wiliiam Berney, W. A. Smith, J. R. Hochstadter, J. L. Lock-
wood, J. B. Fonville, W. P. Brewer, and A. C. Oxford. E. C. Mackey
was City Treasurer; P. H. Carpenter, Clerk; E. G. Taylor, Marshal;
Robert Bailey, O. F. Percy, B. A. Thompson, and Thomas W. Reaves,
Policemen.
Birmingham. 191
Mayor Morris resigned in his second term, and Dr. H. M. Caldwell
was elected by the Board of Aldermen to fill the unexpired term.
A city code was prepared and published in the Morris administration,
second term.
The Jeffers Administration.
Thomas Jeffers was elected Mayor December, 1878. He was fore-
man of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Shops, and was opposed by
Colonel James R. Powell, former Mayor and former President of the
Elyton Land Company, the "Duke of Birmingham," as he had been
known.
The officers of the city government became at this time : Mayor,
Thomas Jeffers ; Aldermen, B. F. Roden, M. H. Jordan, Frank Gazwell,
F. D. Nabers, J. L. Lockwood, G. W. Allen, and W. A. Smith. J. P.
Hutchinson was Treasurer ; P. H. Carpenter, Clerk ; B. Plosser, Marshal,
William Seay and John B. Lewis, Policemen. L. M. Teal succeeded
Plosser as Marshal.
The Second Jeffers Administration.
Mayor, Thomas Jeffers ; Aldermen, C. L. Hardman, T. G. Paine, B.
A. Thompson, C. C. Truss, C. L. Wadsworth, J. L. Lockwood, F. D.
Nabers, M. H. Jordan ; Treasurer, John L. Davis ; City Clerk, P. H.
Carpenter; Marshal, George H. Pond.
The Lane Administration.
Alexander Oscar Lane was elected Mayor of Birmingham December
5, 1882. With this event the city government marked a new era. The
better government then secured has contributed in no small measure to
the phenomenal growth of the town. The following excellent Board of
Aldermen came in with Mr. Lane's administration : C. P. Williamson,
B. F. Roden, A. S. Elliott, E. Ellis, T. L. Hudgins, James O'Connor,
F. V. Evans, and John G. Sheldon. B. A. Thompson was made Treas-
urer; W. A. Jones, Clerk; W. G. Oliver, Marshal; John G. Thompson,
Captain of Police. G. W. Merritt, J. A. Brock, J. A. Mingea, W. S.
Nelson, J. S. Barksdale, C. K. Dickey, G. J. Tomlin, and T. P. Hagood,
were appointed Policemen ; James Fogarty was made City Sexton, and
Dr. A. T. Henley City Physician. The policemen were required to
wear the metropolitan uniform. A pesthouse was built. M. H. Maury
was appointed City Engineer in 1883.
192 Jefferson Comity.
The Second Lane Administration.
Mayor Lane was elected for a second term at the regular semi-annual
election December, 1884. The Aldermen then elected were, J. R.
Hochstadter, N. R. Rosser, William Berney, W. J. Rushton, James F.
Smith, J. A. Going, Fred Sloss, and E. V. Gregory.
B. A. Thompson became Treasurer, F. V. Evans, Clerk ; Dr. A. T.
Henley was reappointed City Physician. Toward the middle of 1884, J.
R. Carter was made City Engineer. F. H. GafTord was appointed Mar-
shal; Dr. H. J. Winn was made Health Officer; O. A. Pickard was ap-
pointed Captain of Police ; J. H. Mingea, J. G. Smith, William Burwell,
J. B. Donelson, H. U. McKinney, T. J. Boggan, A. H. Maynor, and
James McGee were made Policemen.
The second administration of Mayor Lane resulted in great good to
the city. The cause of law and order was maintained with vigor and dis-
cretion. The fire service was thoroughly organized. The public schools
were put upon the highest and most efficient footing. Much improve-
ment of the sidwalks and streets by paving and drainage was accomplished.
The bonded debt of the city was maintained at a premium.
The Third Lane Administration.
The success of the preceding two administrations of Mayor Lane
prevailed on the people to demand his reelection for a third term. De-
cember, 1886, he came into office as his own successor. The Aldermen
then elected were W. A. Walker, Jr., E. W. Linn, J. R. Hochstadter,
D. M. Drennen, James O'Connor, R. W. Whilden, John Colley, and W.
H. Eastman.
F. V. Evans was reappointed Treasurer, H. U. McKinney was
appointed Clerk, Dr. A. T. Henley was reappointed City Physician, O.
A. Pickard was reappointed Marshal.
The Policemen appointed were J. D. Anderson, Charles Martin, J.
M. Nix, W. M. Turner, W. J. Carlisle, A. L. Sexton, R. M. Saunders,
W. H. Pinkerton, T. Z. Hagood, Richard Smoot, Jr., James Turner, B.
R. Childers, Thomas Hart, J. S. Oldham, O. M. Hill, R. H. McCullum,
James Hillary.
The mayor's report, rendered December i, 1886, shows the following
financial comparison between the main items of expenditure for the years
1882 and 1886. The statements relate to monthly expenditures:
Birniingliani. 193
In 1S82 the police pay roll was ^540; in 1886, ^970. In 1S82 the
public school teachers' pay roll was $354 ; in 1886 it had gone over g 1,900.
In 1882 the city water bill was $145 ; in 1886 it was $290. In 1882 the
sanitary department pay roll was ^270; in 1886, :g400. In 1882 the fire
department was wholly unpaid ; i'n 1886 it was paid $375. In 1882 there
was no gas bill ; in 1886 this item was $140.
Assets of City.
Northside Market House and lots $35,000
Southside Market House and lots 25,000
Centi'al Park 48,000
East Park 32,000
West Park 32,000
Powell School buildings and lots 12,000
Henley School buildings and lots 10,000
Paul Hayne School buildings and lots 25,000
Lane Grammar School 12,500
Fifteenth street School buildings and lots. . . . 2,500
School furniture 5,000
Fire engine and hose 6,000
Fire plugs, gas lamps, etc 3, 800
Live stock 1,200
Total ^250,000
City Liabilities.
Northside 8 per cent. Market House bonds issued
in 1882 $ 7,000
First series 8 per cent, sanitary bonds, 1S82 . . 10,000
Second series 8 per cent, sarrt-tary bonds, 1883 . 10,000
Third series 8 per cent, sanitary bonds, 1884 . . 10,000
Fourth series 8 per cent, sanitary bonds, 1885 . 30,000
Seven per cent, school bonds issued 1885 . . . 20,000
Southside 7 per cent. Market House bonds . . . 10,000
Convert the floating debt, to be floated December
I, 18S6, into bonds 60,000
Total Liabilities $157,000
The assets appear by Ais statement to be $C)l„QiOO in excess of the
liabilities.
Estimates of the probable income of the city from various special
sources for 1887 show the following, with indications favoring an increase
over amounts named :
1 94 Jefferson Cotmty.
Licenses $30,000
Real estate tax 25,000
Personal tax 2,800
Special tax 1.500
Merchants tax 2,500
Tuition tax 6,000
Poll tax 2,000
Street tax 3.500
Fines and forfeitures 6,000
State school fund 1,500
Miscellaneous 1,500
Market House rents 4,000
286, 300
' To which add property tax 24,000
Total $110,300
Estimated Expenses for 1887.
Police department $12,500
Teachers, janitors, etc 22, 500
Gas 2,000
Water 4,000
Prison expense 4,000
Sanitary department 5,000
Fire department 4,500
Street department 6,000
Salaries 8,000
Interest account 11,660
Miscellaneous 1,200
$81,360
Probable excess of income over expenditures for
1887 28,940
$110,300
The following is a list of the floating debts, which 7 per cent, bonds
-will be at once issued to retire:
Mark L. Potter $10,000 00
Alabama State Bank 23,500 00
First National Bank 20,000 00
Berney National Bank 3.500 00
C. J. Knighton 1,200 00
Towner, Landstreet & Co. (horse) 5 00
Gutta Percha Rubber Company (engine) . . . 4,200 00
W. T. Green & Co 3 00
The rate of city taxation is 52i'< cents on the $100.
BirmingJuxm. 195
Streets, Drainage, Etc.
The total number of acres is 1,160 included in the city limits.
Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth streets are one hundred feet wide ;
the remainder are eighty feet wide. First avenue and Avenue A are one
hundred feet wide ; the remainder are eighty feet wide. All alleys bisect-
ing every block are twenty feet wide.
There are thirty-six miles of streets and avenues. The total length
of the sanitary sewers is twelve miles. The sewerage is carried and dis-
charged two and one-half miles below the city into Walker's Creek.
About eight and one-half miles of the sewerage system was laid in i SS5-86,
and four or five miles are projected for the year 1887.
The city has expended thus far $60,000 for sewers, about two-thirds
of which has gone into sanitary sewers and the remainder into storm sew-
ers. Disposal of storm waters is yet untouched work. About three-
fourths of a mile of brick sewer is completed. The laying of street
branches is going on daily.
The natural fall is too slight to be depended on for the congregation
and removal of flood waters. The sewers must be carefully built to
correct this fault, with the fall closely and sparingly guarded. Otherwise
sewerage is not particularly expensive for work of this particular character.
A large expenditure in this direction is designed for 1887.
Fifteen thousand lineal feet of curbing was set in 1885-86. Twenty-
five thousand feet will be set this year.
Contracts have been made for the best grade of sidewalks, to meet
the requirements of the business portion of the city.
The labor force actually employed by the city is small. About eight
wagons run to look after the unsewered part of the town, clearing streets,
etc. The main force for grading is the convict gang. Their average is,
say, twenty to thirty per day. The work of grading the streets will, prob-
ably, be soon accomplished. The street railways are now required by the
city to grade the streets over which they pass, from gutter to gutter.
Extensive improvements in street paving are now being arranged for.
JJsfic '^cw 13 91ticjfvticr Irriaii- the S)ivozl
The Press.
THE JONES VALLEY TIMES,
a small weekly published at Elyton, the county seat, was the first
newspaper established in Jefferson County, and appeared in 1845. It
came into life with the event of the Polk administration, but only to make
a support for the proprietor. In politics it was neither fish, flesh, nor fowl.
After two years of precarious life it died a natural death.
In 1849 Dr. Joseph R. Smith and Baylis E. Grace, both now among
the venerable patriarchs of the valley, purchased the outfit of the deceased
journal and began the publication of
THE CENTRAL ALABAMIAN
This was likewise a weekly, neutral in politics, and died, as had its
predecessor, after one year's existence.
Moses B. Lancaster, of Greensboro, a practical printer, revived the
paper, and ran it for three years, when for want of patronage it was dis-
continued.
John Cantley, of Tuscaloosa, came forward, bought the outfit, and
established
THE ELYTON HERALD,
a weekly. The founder of the Herald sold it to Henry A. Hale. During
the period of Hale's publication the city of Birmingham arose and absorbed
Elyton. The Herald was moved to Birmingham.
Birmingham. 197
Robert H. Henley, first Mayor of Birmingham, then purchased the
Herald and converted its name to
THE BIRMINGHAM SUN.
Mr. Henley edited the Sun with marked ability for six months.
Matthews & Laughlin bought the Sun and changed the name to
THE JEFFERSON INDEPENDENT.
Matthews was editor, and conducted the paper for several years. He
then moved to Blountsville, and now publishes the Blountsville Sun.
The first daily was
THE BIRMINGHAM DAILY SUN,
founded in 1872. It perished after a brief experiment. Charles E. Cant-
ley was editor, and became notorious by the publication of truthful
accounts of the cholera scourge.
The Daily Sun did not live long. The Independent was resumed.
THE IRON AGE
made its appearance in 1874. F. M. Grace was editor and Cantley busi-
ness manager.
Willis Roberts, a practical printer, from the cotton region, established
the paper and published it until 1881.
In 1 88 1 W. C. Garrett, of Greensboro, Ala., and F. V. Evans, of
Georgia, both young men of practical experience as publishers and editors,
came in possession of the paper, and published it under the firm name of
Garrett & Evans.
In December, 1881, the same editors and publishers issued the first
copy of the Daily Age.
In September, 1882, the Iron Age Publishing Company was incor-
porated. This movement involved the Sunday Observer, which became
merged into the corporation. F. V. Evans was elected President and
General Manager of the company.
In May, 1883, Evans' health failed from overwork. He sold his
stock to J. L. Watkins, one of the original incorporators. Watkins then
became President of the company, and editor-in-chief of the paper.
igS Jefferson County.
The Birmingham Age is now the only morning paper pubUshed in
the mineral regions of Alabama which receives the Associated Press dis-
patches. As a business enterprise it is a success. It ranks next after the
Atlanta Constitution, in advertising patronage, among the newspapers of
the interior South-Western market towns. Its chief effort is to publish
correct and full information of the developments of the mines and the indus-
trial growth of the cities, especially Birmingham, of the mineral region.
It is independent in politics, but supports the Democratic nominees. Its
political views are advanced. It favors the protection theory as an inten-
tional incident of Federal taxation, supports the efforts to secure National
aid to public education, and all efforts to widen the sphere of public
schools, and favors the movement to repeal the internal revenue laws. It
is now devoting special attention to the encouragement of the polytechnic
system of education by the State, and appeals to Congres-s to devote the
1,000,000 acres of land, now belonging to the Government in Alabama,
to this specific purpose.
The Iron Age Publishing Company owns the franchise of the Asso-
ciated Press for Birmingham, the possession of which gives to the com-
pany an exclusive use of the night dispatches over the Western Union
Telegraph lines.
The influence of the paper has, probably, accomplished more for the
steady growth of Birmingham than any other single enterprise. During
the season of the World's Fair and Cotton Exposition at New Orleans
the company published an extra edition of many thousands for free dis-
tribution from the headquarters of the Alabama Exhibit. This issue con-
tained an accurate description of the mineral and agricultural resources of
Alabama, and of the mines and manufactories then established. It was read
by tens of thousands, and contributed incalculably to the fame of the State.
The Daily Age originated the project of calling the Waterway and
Harbor Improvement Con\ention, assembled at Tuscaloosa in November,
1885, one of the most important, largest, and intelligent bodies of Ala-
bama citizens ever convened. The influence of that convention spread
itself over the entire State, and greatly hastened the industrial revival the
people now enjoy.
The circulation of the Daily Age and the Weekly Iron Age constantly
increases, and orders for sample copies come from all parts of the Union.
The officers and attaches are J. L. Watkins, Editor-in-Chief, with
R. H. Watkins and John W. DuBose as assistants. E. R. Quarles is City
Editor, and W. L. Hawley Reporter. C. M. Hayes is Business Manager,
with L. C. Talley Cashier.
Birmingham. 199
THE SUNDAY MORNING CHRONICLE.
The first issue of this paper was an eight-column sheet, full of original
and select matter. It took high rank from the start. It was founded by
F. V. Evans, editor and proprietor, June 16, 1883. In September of
that year George M. Cruikshank, a politician and newspaperman of expe-
rience, from Talladega, moved to Birmingham, and bought a half interest
in the paper. It yet flourishes under the control of Cruikshank & Grace.
THE EVENING CHRONICLE.
This is an outgrowth from the Sunday Morning Chronicle. No
-enterprise ever founded in Birmingham has- been more indicative of the
maturing forces of this wonderful city than the Evening Chronicle.
Founded in faith, nurtured in love, and brought to success by unflagging
zeal, it has indeed been synonymous in meaning with Birmingham itself.
A bold spirit plucks the flower of success from the nettle of doubt. So
it has proved with many enterprises, founded upon faith in the future of
Birmingham, and so it has proved with the Chronicle.
On January 17, 1884, the founders of the Evening Chronicle, Messrs.
F. V. Evans, G. M. Cruikshank, and D. B. Grace issued the first sheet
■to the world, and it fluttered over the deluge of doubt as the white-winged
dove flitted from the open window of the ark. The public extended the
olive branch of welcome from the first, and, thanks to the people, it has
.survived all the tempests that engulf so many frail journalistic barks ere
they clear the harbor. The Chronicle has kept pace with the rapid
growth of Birmingham. The two are linked together with hooks of steel.
The Chronicle has ever remained faithful to the best interests of the city
to which it owes its present success, and has never faltered in that allegi-
;ance.
In the year 1885 Mr. F. V. Evans was elected city clerk, and sold
his interest in the Chronicle to his partners, Messrs. G. M. Cruikshank
and D. B. Grace, who have since successfully pushed it to its present
prosperous position. The large number of intelligent workingmen in
Birmingham, and the active life of the business men, who have leisure to
read only in the evening, gives an afternoon paper an advantage it would
not possess in scarcely any other city in the South. The Sunday Chron-
icle, an adjunct of the Evening Chronicle, finds a large circle of readers
for a similar reason. The business men find the Evening Chronicle inval-
2CX) Jefferson County.
uable because of its full and reliable market reports from Liverpool and
the Eastern centers, published a few minutes after the closing of the
markets.
ALABAMA CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE.
This paper is the property of the two Alabama Conferences of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. It started, May 25, 1883, with a cir-
culation of over two thousand, and at present has a circulation of more
than four thousand. Rev. A. S. Andrews, D. D. , was its first editor, and
Rev. J. W. Christian, his associate. Rev. J. T. Rutlege was the pub-
lisher, and Mr. R. E. Sullivan had charge of the mechanical department.
At the end of the first year Dr. Andrews resigned and Dr. Christian
became editor.
About the end of the second year Dr. Christian and Mr. Rutlege
both died. Rev. J. W. Rush, D. D., was elected editor, and Rev. G. R.
Lynch became the publisher. At the end of four years' work Dr. Rush
resigned and Rev. W. C. McCoy was elected editor but was not expected
to take charge until July, 1S87. Dr. Rush still is editor in fact.
From the very first the Advocate has been successful in every way.
Its mechanical department, still under control of Mr. Sullivan, has always
been first-class. For beauty, clearness, and accuracy, unsurpassed by
any paper in the State. As an advertising medium it has offered the very
best opportunity of any paper in the State, its circulation being larger
than any other. Its editorials and selections and contributions have been
pure, elevating, and strong. While it is a distinctively denominational
paper, it has never marred its columns with bigotry and narrowness. It
has discussed religious questions, church policies, and social affairs in the
spirit of a broad catholicity and an independent manhood. Under such
management, mechanical, editorial and financial, it has attained a position
of influence among the secular papers of the State, and of more than
ordinary weight among the newspapers of the Methodist Church.
Drs. Rush and McCoy recently purchased the publishing business
from Mr. Lynch, and have bought new type and new press, and enlarged
the paper to its preserit size. Under thair joint administration it has
taken a new start in the race, and sl^ows signs of a very vigorous life. Its
friends confidently expect it to soon reach a circulation of eight thousand
or ten thousand, and to be a great power for good.
Birmmgham.
THE LABOR UNION.
This is the recognized organ of organized labor in the mining and
manufacturing regions of Alabama. It is the friend of all the different
trades unions. Its first issue had eight hundred subscribers. After it
had been in existence a year its subscription ran up into the thousands.
It is a weekly, seven columns, printed on book paper, and edited .with
marked spirit and ability. Captain George N. Edmonds is the editor, an
ex-Union soldier. The Labor Union professes to be non-partisaa in
politics, but always takes a side in political contests. It desires to
advocate the politics which it believes to be best promotive of the rights
and interests of labor.
THE NEW SOUTH.
This is an illustrated industrial journal, taking rank in size, mechanical
execution, editorial vigor, and circulation with the best in its class in the
United States. No scientific or industrial journal presents a handsomer or
more chaste appearance. The current issue (1887) is fifty thousand copies.
Into every part of the United States and Canada it goes, and is greeted
with applause. The political and technical press in all the States consult
its pages for the most reliable information respecting the resources and
record of development of the mineral region of Alabama. Mining,
manufacturing, and agriculture are its specialties, with full reports of the
general growth of Birmingham.
The illustrations of the New South are unsurpassed in correctness of
outline and clearness of perspective. The numerous portraits every issue
contains are remarkably true to life. Every issue contains a bird's-eye
view of Birmingham covering two pages. The paper used is of the best,
and the typography is perfect.
To represent the marvelous natural resources of Birmingham and
Jefferson County, and the State of Alabama, and to demonstrate to capital
and labor in every part of the Union the advantages of residence here is
the work, well done, of the New South.
The New South originated in Columbus, Miss., in 1882. March,
1886, it was removed to Birmingham, and soon entered upon a wide field.
The founders and conductors are W. H. and W. C. Worthington ; the
former a native of Lowndes County, one of the wealthiest prairie counties
of Alabama, the latter a native of Columbus, Miss. The father of these
Jefferson County.
two brothers owned a printing establishment, and both sons learned the
practical art of the printer at an early age, and have all their manhood
been engaged in the publishing business,
W. H. Worthington, the elder brother, was captain in the line in the
Thirteenth Mississippi Infantry during the life of the Southern Con-
federacy.
The general advertising and subscription agent of the New South is a
young gentleman, Mr. L. P. Hill. No small degree of the success
attained by the paper must be allowed to his energy and attractive manner
of presenting its claims to the public. Mr. Hill is a "low country" South
Carolinian, from Beaufort. Sharing there the common fate of the old
slave-holding class he has, in his present life, illustrated the versatility of
talent which has shown itself so generally among his countrymen, by
pursuing, in unaccustomed walks, an honorable ambition to surmount the
reverses of fortunes.
THE PLANTERS' JOURNAL, LAND AND RAIL, FURNACE
AND FACTORY.
These industrial journals are owned and conducted by "The Plant-
ers' Journal and Southern Iron Worker Company." The incorporators
are F. C. Morehead, of Vicksburg. Miss. ; J. W. Billups, Jr., and Robert
P. Duncan, of Birmingham. The capital stock is §200,000. Five
thousand dollars has been paid in money, and the remainder subscribed-
has been secured by property.
The Planters' Journal,
a monthly publication, was established in Vicksburg, Miss., in 18S0. as
the organ of the National Cotton Planters' Association, by F. C. More-
head. It began at once a remarkable career of prosperity and influence.
It has been ably edited, and has taken the widest view of Southern
agricultural possibilities. All departments of the plantation industry
are separately treated in its columns; the practical rather than the
experimental results are mainly presented.
The Planters' Journal was largely instrumental in securing the
initiation of the Atlanta Exposition of 188 1. It suggested and afterward
devoted invaluable energies toward the initiation of the Cotton Centennial
and World's Fair of New Orleans. Its editor, F. C. Morehead, traveled
Birvtinghain. 203
for a year in all parts of the United States as Commissioner-General of
that great enterprise.
The Planters' Journal has been removed to Birmingham. The
specialty which it now has in progress of development is the Cotton
States Field Contest of 1888. Premiums of unprecedented value, ranging
up in the thousands of dollars each, are offered for-champion acres of the
cereals, cotton, for plans for farm buildings, and other items denoting
improved agriculture.
At this time the paper also devotes itself to the recovery of the
cotton tax of 1866-67, now held on deposit in the Federal treasury, and
amounting to many millions of dollars.
Land and Rail.
This spirited and handsome monthly is devoted to the encouragement
of immigration and railroad building. It will unquestionably greatly aid
the prosperity of Alabama.
Furnace and Factory,
the third of this series, is not surpassed in the United States in mechan-
ical perfection of "get up." It is edited by one of the accomplished
geologists of the South, Professor Conley. It maintains a valuable corps
of correspondents in all the great markets of America. Its name indi-
cates its devotion to pig-iron production, and all kinds of manufactures.
THE ALABAMA MEDICAL AND SURGICAL JOURNAL.
This monthly is a Birmingham enterprise of the greatest respecta-
bility. Two young physicians, Drs. J. D. S. and W. E. B. Davis, native
to Jefferson County, and in full practice in the city, edit it. It is printed
at the Caldwell Printing Works in the city, and published by J. A. Stadler
& Co. Dr. B. J. Baldwin, of Montgomery, edits the Eye Department.
The Medical Society of Jefferson County publishes its proceedings in its
pages. Original essays of great literary and scientific merit are found
in them. There can be no question that publications of this kind become
valuable to the medical profession in indirect ways. In the example of
The Alabama Medical and Surgical Journal the original essays are often
addressed to the moral phase of the physician's work, and to the morality
involved in the acts of patients. The phraseology of these papers renders
204 Jefferson Comity.
them intelligible to the ordinar>' reader, and thus they are made to serve
the double purpose of professional study and popular instruction.
As this work passes through the press, preliminary arrangements
have matured to establish the Birmingham Daily Evening News, a
modern newspaper in scope, and to be specially devoted to the industrial,
social, and political interests of Birmingham and Alabama.
WILLIS ROBERTS
established the oldest newspaper now published in Birmingham, and
opened the first job printing establishment of the town. His whole life
has been devoted to the work of a publisher, in which he has founded
several newspapers, and has grown from a small beginning in business to
a commanding position and a deservedly good influence in society.
Mr. Roberts was born at Pendleton, South Carolina, July 5, 1828.
The father soon moved his family to Georgia, and after nine or ten years'
abode there came to Wetumpka, Alabama. In his twelfth year the lad
Willis entered upon his printing career in the office of the Wetumpka
Argus. This was a weekly newspaper of wide influence. The mails
in those early times were mostly weekly only, and the readers of news-
papers were mostly cotton planters residing on their plantations. The
great orator, and later the leader of the greatest political revolution of
modern times, William L. Yancey, was the editor of the Wetumpka
Argus when Willis Roberts began, in his office, to learn the typesetter's art.
James W. Warren, father of one of the influential men of Birmingham,
Ed. Warren, was foreman of that little printing office.
In 1852 Mr. Roberts established, at Dadeville, the Dadeville Banner,
the first newspaper ever printed in Tallapoosa County.
In 1855 he became proprietor of the Wetumpka (Coosa County)
Spectator, which became, in course of the reconstruction of the adjoining
counties, the Elmore County Standard.
Order Number 49 from Major-General Pope's headquarters, issued in
season of profound peace, deprived the Standard of official patronage, in
order to build up a rival in politics. Such was government in Alabama
for seven years following Appomattox.
The material of the Standard was thereupon moved to Columbiana,
the county seat of Shelby County, and there used to found the Shelby
Guide. The Guide fought a good fight for white man's rule in Alabama,
and the liberty of the press.
In 1872 Mr. Roberts opened the first job printing office in Birming-
Birmingham.
ham. In 1886 this house pubhshed for Messrs. N. T. Green & Co. an
illustrated pamphlet of two hundred pages, called "The Mineral Wealth
of Alabama, and Birmingham Illustrated," in an edition of five thousand
copies. No better job could have been executed in the United States.
February 11, 1874, Roberts & Duval issued the first number of the
Birmingham Weekly Iron Age. The Daily Age, now the leading
morning newspaper of Northern Alabama, is the offspring of this enter-
prise. In 1876 Mr. Roberts associated with him his son Charles, and
became the proprietor of the Iron Age.
He has been a resident of the city since 1875. The large job
printing and bookbinding establishment of Roberts & Son employs his full
time, and secures for him, in his declining years, a handsome support.
Mr. Roberts has been twice married : first to Miss Mary Ann
Harvey, of Chambers County. She is the mother of his sons, Charles
and Osceola Roberts, both of Birmingham, and both in the office of
Roberts & Son, Printers and Bookbinders.
His second wife was Mrs. C. N. Allen, nee Leeper, of Shelby
County, and they have four daughters
Tk^ (^[^^Kel^e^.
Religion has always, from the earliest history of Jefferson County,
commanded the veneration of the people, and the support of the churches-
has been a distinguishing custom among the leading men. Abundant
evidence of this grateful moral character is found in the biographical
sketches of this volume. Every settlement had, from the first, some
fixed place of worship, and whether its observances were regular or
irregular, depended on the ability of the people to support a regular or
an itinerant clergyman.
The religious life in Birmingham is remarkable when contemplated
in view of the rapid growth of the city, made up of people congregated
from all parts of America, and who have professedly come here to work
to make money. The churches are all crowded every Sunday, and as the
seating capacity is enlarged from time to time in the old, new ones are
projected and built.
ST. PAUL'S CATHOLIC CHURCH.
Soon after the first few houses were put up in the little village of
Birmingham there were found among the first settlers some few Irish
Catholics, who, as usual, never forgot their God or their religion. They
immediately applied for a priest to visit them now and again, and, as
Tuscaloosa was the nearest place where a Catholic priest resided, the late
Very Reverend Father McDonough was appointed to attend the mission.
This was as early as 1871. Every month or two a visit was made here
and holy mass offered up in one of two rooms then occupied by the late
Birmittgha^n. 209-
Michael Cahalan, who lived at the corner of Fourth avenue and Twenty-
first street. The missions increased in number every month, as Birming-
ham even then began to have a great name as the rising city of the South,
and men flocked here from many prosperous cities in Georgia, Missis-
sippi, and Alabama. Mr. James O'Connor, Mr. F. P. O'Brien, the late
Thomas Durkin, Mr. M. T. Smith, and others, some of whom have gone
to their reward, we hope, others who, driven off through fear, sought
their fortunes elsewhere, formed the nucleus of the Catholic congregation
of 1872.
Very soon they began to talk about the need of a church, and no
sooner thought of and determined on than one went up as though by
magic. Colonel Powell, the hard-worker and good-hearted President of
the Elyton Land Company, gave the lot on the south-west corner of Third
avenue and Twenty-first street — 50 x 140 feet — for Catholic purposes.
Father McDonough, of happy memory, and his small congregation went
to work immediately, and in the fall of 1872 a neat church edifice, 60x30'
feet, stood ready for blessing at the corner of Second avenue, front-
ing on Twenty-second street. So great was the promise of a rapidly-
growing Catholic congregation here that the best part of the lot was kept
vacant for a new brick church in the near future. The church was dedi-
cated to God, under the patronage of the Apostle St. Paul, early in Sep-
tember, 1872. The then vicar general of this diocese, afterward the
bishop of San Antonio, Texas, Rt. Rev. A. D. Pellicier, performed the
ceremony, and the late bishop of Mobile, then pastor of Montgomery,
Ala., D. Manucy, preached the sermon on the occasion. The sermon-
was a very eloquent one, and the good people of every denomination
helped to make the occasion a grand success.
The little congregation were enthusiastic, and hoped that in a few
years their most sanguine thoughts would be realized — a fine church, ele-
gant schools, and a handsome pastoral residence.
The cholera, however, came and blighted not only their building
prospects but nearly devastated the young and rapidly-growing city. No'
sooner had grim death, in the garb of this terrible scourge, appeared than
men, who value life more than great possessions, fled, and especially those-
who had a charge estrusted to them in the way of wife and little ones.
The city was almost deserted and all business suspended. A few profes-
sional men, regardless of life where duty called, remained, among whom
we may mention Drs. Luckie and Jordan. Their task was a hard and'
an arduous one. There, too, was to be found the late Father McDon-
ough, assisting and aiding every way in his power the stricken and dying ;
Jeffe7-son County.
not only of his own flock, but also those of his separated brethren who
needed his help. This was in the summer of 1873, and there then seemed
very little hope of the Magic City ever rising from its low and pitiful
condition. Early in 1874 Father McDonough was moved to the cathedral
at Mobile, and St. Paul's Church again continued to be served from Tusca-
loosa and Selma. Many priests at various times had charge. Among the
rest we may mention Very Rev. M. J Hamilton, Rev. Edward Kirwin,
Rev. M. Gardner, and the late Rev. J. S. J. Crowly.
In January, 1880, the Rt. Rev. John Quinlan, of happy memory,
sent the present pastor, Father Browne, as the first resident priest. No
sooner had he been appointed than the present valuable property owned
by the Catholic Church was obtained by the bishop and the gentlemen
already mentioned as forming the nucleus of the early congregation. The
lot which had been donated by the Land Company reverted back to them,
and, through the generosity and exceeding kindness of the directors of
the Elyton Land Company of 1880, the terms were made so easy and the
donation was so liberal it became possible for the Catholic community to
acquire the property. Immediately a pastoral residence was built ; the
church was moved from its old site to its present position ; it was enlarged
and made more comfortable than it had been, and Sisters were invited, and
lived in a rented house until in 1882, when the present convent building
was erected. There still remains a small debt on the convent and lots,
which, it is hoped, will very soon be wiped out. The church is entirely
too small to accommodate the present Catholic congregation. A new one
must soon be erected, and this will be immediately after the debt is paid.
The schools are also too small, and accommodations must soon be made
for the pupils. The census just taken shows a Catholic population in the
city alone of about one thousand souls. It is hoped that very soon a fine
gothic structure, worthy of Catholic faith, as displayed everywhere
throughout the civilized world, will be raised in Birmingham, and, free
from debt by the generosity of Catholic hearts, will be dedicated to the
services of the living God. There are at present two resident priests in
Birmingham — Very Rev. J. J. Browne, rector, and Rev. James P. McCaf-
ferty, assistant.
There are five regular missions attached to Birmingham — Pratt Mines ;
Church of St. Catharine of Sienna, Gadsden ; Church of St. James, War-
rior ; Church of St. Joseph, Helena ; a station at Wheeling, and many
other small places where mass is occasionally said.
Birmingham.
Very Rev. John J. Browne.
Father Browne was born in the city of Cork, Ireland, in 1840 ;
hence, he is now in the forty-eighth year of his age. His early studies
were made in Cork, a city famous for its excellent schools and learned
men. He left his native land in 1S60, with Bishop Quinlan, who had just
been consecrated second bishop of Mobile. Very soon after his arrival
in the United States he entered Mt. St. Mary's Seminary, in Maryland,
one of the most noted Catholic institutions of learning in this country.
Here he remained during the war, and received the degree of A. M.,
graduating with distinguished honors at the close of the collegiate course.
His theological studies were pursued at the same institution, and on
August 29, 1866, he was ordained a priest in tlie cathedral at Mobile. His-
first mission was at St. Patrick's Church at Apalachicola, Fla. , where he
remained fourteen months. As a young priest he soon attracted atten-
tion by the character of his sermons and executive ability in his pastoraL
work. Possessing a most liberal education, his preaching was marked by
erudition and logic, with a pleasing delivery. From Apalachicola his
bishop transferred him to Mobile, appointing him pastor of St. Patrick's
Church in that city, which position he filled until March, 1877, when he
was appointed rector of the cathedral. His next charge was Birming-
ham, to which he was assigned in January, 1880, becoming the first resi-
dent Catliolic pastor in the Magic City. In May, 1880, he was appointed
Vicar forane, wlaich gives him the title of "Very Reverend" in his
church, and this office was held by him until the death of Bishop Quinlan,
in March, 1883. It was during the early days of his pastorate here that
the valuable property now owned by the Catholic Church was acquired.
This property is situated in the heart of the city, adjacent to the lot on
which the courthouse is built, and embraces between three and four
acres. Under the charge of Father Browne, the interests of his church
have steadily grown here, and few figures have become more widely
familiar to all classes of our population than his. He possesses remark-
able energy and force of character, with the highest social attainments.
As a business man he has few equals. Had he chosen a commercial life
he must undoubtedly have acquired success and fortune. A ripe scholar,
a polished gentleman, a rare linquist, a fluent and pleasing pulpit orator,
and withal a devoted priest and pastor, his church is to be congratulated
in having such a servant. Many instances exist of large-hearted charity
displayed by him which have never been known to the public. This
Jcffersoii Count^'.
trait stamps him as possessing another bright quahty, viz: love for his
fellows, no matter what their faith may be.
It will thus be seen that Father Browne possesses a combination of
qualities that serve to adorn his character both as a man and a priest, and,
without eulogy, he is one of the landmarks of Birmingham, in which all
good citizens can feel a just pride.
St. Paul's is in a highly prosperous condition. The business sagacity
which led to the investment in the real estate owned by the Catholic
Church when it was very cheap is discovered in the great appreciation of
value it now holds. A new and enlarged church will be built upon it,
and a Catholic school is designed to stand by the side of it, the space
being ample for the grounds necessary to surround both.
CHURCH OF THE ADVENT.
The parish of The Advent, Protestant Episcopal, Birmingham, is
an offshoot from St. John's parish, Elyton, for it had its origin in mis-
sionary services, rendered by the rector of that church. Rev. P. A. Fitts,
early in the year 1872. And so many of St. John's parishioners were
subsequently transferred to Birmingham that its corporate life was
destroyed, and it eventually lapsed into a mission or appendage of the
rapidly developing Church of the Advent. The mother organization
thus died, as it were, in giving birth to the daughter, but the vigorous
life of the daughter, it is now hoped, will ere long reanimate the dead
corporation of the old church, and give it, in the resurrection, a stronger
and more enduring existence. The history, therefore, of St. John's,
Elyton, is a necessary introduction to the historj- of the Church of the
Advent.
In the decade from 1S40 to 1850 the Episcopal Church had no foothold
in Alabama between the parallels of Tuscaloosa and Huntsville, except a
feeble parish at Jacksonville, organized in 1849. Some time during this
decade there came from Connecticut two sisters, the Misses Amy and
Maria H. Welton, to teach school. Miss Maria subsequently married Dr.
Nathaniel Hawkins, and her sister Mr. Mortimer Jordan. The loving
devotion of these two earnest women to the principles and worship of
the church planted the seeds from which sprang up and grew the life which
afterward developed, through many difficulties and discouragements, into
the organized parish of St. John's, Elyton, in the year 1850. The following
Birmingham.
is the brief and unique Article of Association, with signatures attached,
under which the new parochial life began, and is copied from the parish
records :
"We, the undersigned, being desirous to form a parish at this place,
to be called St. John's parish, do promise to conform to the doctrine and
discipline of the church." [Signed] Nathaniel Hawkins, Maria H. Haw-
kins, William S. Mudd, Florence A. Mudd, Mortimer Jordan, Amy Jor-
dan, M. T. Porter, Thomas W. Earle, W. A. Walker, C. H. Williams.
The first vestry of the new parish thus organized were Dr. Nathaniel
Hawkins, M. T. Porter, C. H. Williams, and Thomas W. Earle. Mr.
Earle was elected secretary, and Dr. Hawkins and Mr. C. H. Williams
senior and junior wardens, respectively. The earliest ministrations on
record, before this organization, were made in May, 1849, by Rev. Henry
C, Lay, afterward the beloved Bishop of Easton, Maryland, and Rev. J. M.
Robertson, a noble and devoted priest, both of them from Huntsville,
They held services, preached, and baptized a number of children, and
administered holy communion.
From the time of its organization in 1850 until 1870, the parish had
no regular services. Lay reading, with only occasional visits from the
bishop and neighboring clergy, the nearest of whom was fifty-six miles
away, at Tuscaloosa, was all the nurture its young life received until 1 870,
except the short rectorship of Rev. W. Fayette Davidson, who took
charge on the 26th of August, 1856, and resigned on the isth of January,
1S57.
The clergy, who, besides the Bishops, Rt. Rev. N. H. Cobbs, D.D.,
and Rt. Rev. R. H. Wilmer, D. D. , in the long interval of twenty years
between 1850 and 1870, visited and ministered in the parish were Rev.
Messrs. D. D. Flower, H. C. Lay, Thomas A. Morris, William Johnson,
R. D. Nevius, J. D. Easter, Thomas J. Beard, and S. M. Bird. The long-
est intervals between these clerical visits was one of two years and ten
months, and another of one year and eight months.
In July, 1870, that faithful and devoted missionary. Rev. J. F. Smith,
now of Talladega, Ala., took charge and served as rector until July, 1871,
when Rev. P. A. Fitts succeeded him, and continued in charge until after
the parish had lost its corporate life in the new parish of the Advent, Bir-
mingham, in 1873. The number of baptisms in these twenty-three years
was 91 ; confirmations, 57; communicants, in 1872, 51; marriages, 12;
funerals, 14.
During the long period of irregular ministrations the services were
held at times in the Methodist Church, at others in the courthouse, and
2 1 4 Jefferson Coiitity.
in a log schoolhouse on the site of the present school building. The
church building was not erected until 1871. The pews were taken from a
church erected some years before at Ashville, St. Clair County, and
removed to Elyton because the congregation at that point had all died or
removed. This work was accomplished largely through the self-denying
efforts of the daughters of the faithful senior warden and lay-reader, Dr.
N. Hawkins.
In the fall of 1871 Rev. P. A. Fitts. deacon, took charge. The
communicants then r.'imbered fifty-seven, while at the mission point of
Birmingham, whose foundation was then being laid, he reported to con-
vention in 1872 only sixteen communicants. From this time the life of
the mission station began to abso'f u the life of the old parish of St. John's.
The new parish of the Advent was organized early in 1873, applied and
was admitted into union with the diocese at the convention in May of that
year, in Mobile, with William Gessner, Ellis Phelan, George R. Ward,
R. H. Pearson, S. W. Gillespie as deputies.
Rev. P. A. Fitts became rector of the new parish and in one year
the number of communicants increased from sixteen to forty, with a cor-
responding decrease in the number of St. John's, Elyton. The first vestry
consisted of William Gessner, R. H. Pearson, W. P. Barker, W. J. Milner,
and Dr. Sydney Smith. The date of their election and all records of their
official action have been lost.
The Elyton Land Company, in 1871, in laying off the city, generously
permitted the selection and donated the beautiful lot, 200 by 198 feet, on
the corner of Sixth avenue and Twentieth street, for church purposes,
and efforts were made to build a chapel on it in 1872, the first services
having been held in a small storeroom on the corner of First avenue and
Twenty-first street. The chapel, with some aid from St. John's, Mont-
gomery, and other points, was completed and ready for use in the spring
of 1873 at a cost of ^1,200, and was the first church building erected in
Birmingham. It was 60 by 25 feet, and seated about 200 persons.
Rev. Mr. Fitts continued in charge about three years, nearly one
year of which time, having had the misfortune to break his leg by a fall from
the railroad platform at Calera, he preached, withal, to his people by his
example of patient endurance of a long and painful confinement. This earn-
est and eloquent preacher and devoted pastor was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala.,
reared partly there and partly in Mobile, and educated at the University
of Alabama. He chose the profession of the law, and had entered suc-
cessfully into practice in his native place, when he was moved to devote
his heart and his energies to the sacred ministry. Upon his ordination to
Biriningkmn. 2 1 5
the deaconate, May 15, 1869, he was assigned to duty by the bishop in
Christ Church, Tuscaloosa, until 187 1, when he was transferred to St.
John's, Elyton, from which latter place he was transferred to the Church
of the Advent, as we have before seen. The pleasant memories of his
faithful pastorate here has caused the hearts of his old parishioners to
follow his successful career elsewhere, and to note with pleasure his recent
return to the Diocese of Alabama, to minister in the neighboring city of
Anniston. The number of communicants increased in the three years of
his rectorship from sixteen to eighty-eight. Having received a call to
Clarksville, Tennessee, he resigned, and left to take his new charge in
October, 1875.
There was a vacancy in the rectorship from this time until the follow-
ing February, when Rev. James A. Van Hoose, born in Tuscaloosa,
educated at the University of the South, Sewanee, and ordained deacon
in St. John's, Mobile, February 2, 1876, was assigned to his first clerical-
duty, by the bishop, in this parish. His charge, unfortunately, was.
of the short duration of four months, ending in June, 1876. Too
close study of the Greek language had so impaired his eyesight as to
render it impossible to continue his studies without incurring danger of
total blindness, and caused him to abandon his hope of the priesthood,
and to give himself to such secular work as would maintain his family, and
serve the church as opportunity might offer, as a perpetual deacon and
willing assistant to the rector in charge. His energy and success as a man
of business is suggestive of what his usefulness to the church as a conse-
crated priest might have been had he been able to realize his earlier
hopes. His resignation was followed by another period of five months,
in which there were no regular ministrations, only occasional services hav-
ing been rendered by Rev. George Hunt, of Christ Church, Tuscaloosa,
and Rev. P. A. Fitts, of Clarksville, Tennessee.
In November, 1876, Rev. A. Kinney Hall, a deacon from the Diocese
of Indiana, was appointed to the vacancy. Mr. Hall had a special apti-
tude for church building and decorating, and succeeded, with the aid of
the ladies, who raised the money, in adding much to the appearance of
the interior of the very plain chapel. The Sunday school bought and
paid for the bell, and the whole lot was inclosed with a board fence. He
reported to the convention of 1877 seventy-one nominal and forty-five
actual communicants, indicating a loss of seventeen in one year. Mr.
Hall's ministrations as deacon in charge continued until October,
1877, when he was transferred to Livingston and Gainesville. After three
years of service there he was ordained to the priesthood in 1881, and soon
13
2 1 6 Jefferson County.
after removed to the Diocese of Louisiana, where he is still laboring as a
parish priest.
On the 1st of March, 1878, Rev. Charles Morris, deacon, from the
Diocese of Kentucky, was put in charge, and on his ordination to the
priesthood in May, of the same year, at the convention in Demopolis,
was made rector. In the autumn he had the misfortune to lose his wife,
and in January, 1879, having received a call to Hopkinsville, Ky., he
resigned and left for that place. He was subsequently elected rector of
St. Paul's Church, Evansville, Indiana, where he is now doing a most
acceptable and successful work. At the convention of May, 1878, he
reported one hundred and sixteen communicants.
Mr. Morris having given up the work in January, 1879, there was
again an interregnum until the following November, when Rev. J. B.
Gray, called from Los Angelos, California, entered upon the duties of the
rectorship. During his administration of three years the present rectory
was built, mainly by the strenuous exertions of the ladies, always fore-
most in every good work. It cost about ;$i,500. It was not completed
at the time of Mr. Gray's resignation, and was not occupied by him. His
work in the parish was marked by a quiet, humble, persistent, and faith-
ful effort to meet the difficulties and discouragements of the situation,
difficulties growing out of the depressed condition of the city, not yet
fully rallied from the terrible effects of the cholera epidemic of 1873, and
a changing population.
In 1879 there were 112 communicants. He reported, in 1880, only
109, one having died and two removed, and on his departure, November,
1881, there were 125, showing an increase the last year of sixteen, all but
one of whom were confirmations.
This faithful pastor was specially devoted to the care and comfort of
the poor and needy. Mr. Gray is a native of Maryland. He became
canonically connected with this diocese in 1864, but circumstances of the
civil war hindered his actual residence and working here until 1866, when
he took charge of Trinity Church, Florence, and St, John's, Tuscumbia,
in North Alabama, remaining until the latter part of 1867, when he
removed to Los Angelos, California, from which place he was called to
the Church of the Advent. From this point he returned to his native
State, and has since been the beloved rector of Trinity Church, St. Mary's
City.
Rev. J. A. Van Hoose, who had again become a citizen and merchant
of Birmingham, during the latter part of Mr. Gray's sta>-, rendered val-
uable assistance in the Sunday school, as vestryman, and otherwise
Bii-minghmn . 2 i 7
attended, as opportunity offered, to the spiritual wants of tlie congrega-
tion, until the present incumbent, Rev. Thomas J. Beard, took charge on
the 1st of May, 1882.
During the now nearly five years of his labors as rector the church
has gone steadily forward, the chapel has been twice enlarged, so that it
will now seat nearly if not quite 400 comfortably. The first enlargement
and repairing was made in January, 1884, and cost nearly $900, ;?250 of
which was borne by the Ladies' Aid Society. This gave only seventy-five
additional sittings, and the necessity for more room to accommodate the
rapidly increasing congregation has caused the recent addition of a wing
seating 150 persons. Both the main building and part of the wing have
been carpeted, the wing by the generosity of Mr. J. T. Nixon, and the
main, or old part, by the Ladies' Aid Society, which, during the past five
years, has made and expended on the church and rectory, and in generous
personal gifts to the rector and his friends, many hundreds of dollars, and
are now engaged in accumulating a fund to furnish the new church when
built, as it will soon undoubtedly be, on the beautiful lot corner Sixth
avenue and Twentieth street. Besides the Ladies' Aid Society, always
working in churchly and legitimate ways for the good of the church, there
has been organized a guild of men, called the Guild of St. John's, in honor
of the old parish at Elyton, and also an altar chapter of young people to care
for the proper cleanliness and adornment of the altar and chancel. There
have been two Mission Sunday schools organized, one at St. John's, Elyton,
and the other on the south side of the railroad, numbering about fifty
pupils and eight teachers each. The first is under the superintendence of
Samuel Greene, Esq., and the second under Prof N. D. Van Sjxkle, of
the city high school. The Sunday school in the church on the North Side
numbers near lOO scholars, and is under the superintendence of Rev. J. A.
Van Hoose, who visits on alternate Sundays, in the afternoon, the Mission
Sunday schools, and assists the rector in the morning service, and in other
important ways.
The growth of the preceding three years had been hampered and
hindered by the paral)-sing influence of the cholera visitation upon the life
and development of the city, by the shortness of the rectorships, and the
frequent and prolonged vacancies of the cure, and by other unavoidable
circumstances incident to its new and feeble condition. The increase of
the number of communicants from 125 in 1882 to more than 400 at this
writing has been largely due to the rapid increase of the city's population,
and whatever may or may not have been the fidelity of the rector, local
conditions of a providential nature have had a large share in promoting
2 1 8 Jefferso)L Coicnty.
the present growth and strength of the parish. Not only has the number
of communicants increased nearly fourfold, but the financial strength has
increased in even a much larger ratio, and the best interests of the church
require the organization of a new parish, according to the natural divisions
of the city by the railroads, and due steps are being taken to effect this-
new organization, and call a minister to take charge of it at once. The
temporal prosperity and growth of the city and its suburbs offer a large
field for the spiritual activities of the church, but while the field is white
to the harvest, the laborers are few.
The present vestry consists of Charles Wheelock, senior warden ;
W. J. Milner, junior warden ; A. W. Adger, secretary ; Robert Jemison,
treasurer; R. H. Pearson, T. C. Thompson, J. P. Mudd, J. R. Carter,
J. F. Johnston, T. B. Lyons, and James B. Cobbs. Of these only R. H.
Pearson, Esq., and Major W. J. Milner were members of the original
vestry of 1873. Other laymen who have acted as vestrymen in the brief
history of this young parish are Hon. G. W. Hewitt, J. M. Earle, J. L.
Lockwood, G. B. West, William Gessner, H. J. Winn, Ellis Phelan,
F. H. Armstrong, Dr. M. H. Jordan, M. T. Porter, and Dr. H. P.
Cochrane.
Rev. Thomas J. Beakd, Rector Church of the Advent.
Mr. Beard was born March, 1835, in Lowndes County, Ala. In
early boyhood days he lost both parents, and went to live in the village of
Dayton, Marengo County, with the family of his kinsman, R. H. Picker-
ing, Esq., a large cotton planter. At that time Dayton was the place of
residence of many rich planters, who, owning plantations in the surround-
ing country, fi.xed their residences on this .sandy plain, where health, good
water, pleasant grounds, schools and churches, and general society might
be found.
Thomas J. Beard entered the male academy of the place, then pre-
sided over by an accomplished gentleman and graduate of Chapel Hill
College, Dr. W. J. Kittrell. He at once rose on his merits to the head
of his class, and no one of his fellows ever aspired higher than to be next
below "Tom Beard." In recitations and in deportment his weekly report
was seldom less than "perfect," while on the playground his activity and
proficiency were among the foremost.
For several years the youth was a valued inmate of the' family of
Andrew P. Calhoun, a cotton planter, residing near Dayton, son of the
Carolina statesman. Mr. Calhoun's sons were too young, as he thouglit,
Birmmghani. 219
to attend, unprotected, a neighborhood school, a mile from home, and he,
having formed a strong attachment to the orphan lad, invited him to come
to live in his family, and become a friend to his own boys. Founded on
this very marked evidence of confidence, placed upon one so young, grew
up a life-long mutuality of friendship between him and the entire Calhoun
family. A pleasant display of this sentiment was made when John C.
Calhoun, one of the "boys" mentioned, was about to be married in a
•distant State. He demanded that he should enter upon that happy change
of life with the blessing of his youthful friend, now a respected priest.
Therefore, Rev. Mr. Beard was sent for to perform the marriage service.
Rev. Mr. Beard was educated at the University of Alabama. He
first fixed upon the law as his profession, but, after a few months study in
Dayton, he altered his purpose, and began to prepare for the ministry.
He was ordained deacon at St. Paul's Church, Lowndesboro, his native
place, June 24, i860. May 9, 1864, he was ordained priest at St. John's,
Montgomery. His first charge was Trinity Church, Demopolis, where
he preached to a highly intelligent congregation for several years with
marked acceptability. From Demopolis he went to assume charge of St.
James, Eufaula. While in this work he went to Gen. Joseph E. John-
ston's army, then engaged in the great Georgia campaign, as a missionary,
and remained there, often under fire along the lines, until that campaign
ended. Evangelistic work in Northern Alabama, and the pastorate of
St. John's, Helena, Ark., employed him until called to the then largest
parish in the State, St. John's, Mobile. There he labored for ten years
■with distinguished success. The church communicants increased, until
the number approached 700.
From Mobile Rev. Mr. Beard came to his present charge, and the
history of the church since then is the record of his work. His energy
is ceaseless. Of late years the reverend gentleman preaches without notes.
He is logical, well-informed, and very animated and forcible in delivery.
He prepares his subject by close thought, and an excellent memory and
•disciplined mind preserve the train of study for utterance in words found
ready for the occasion. There are few more fluent public speakers than
he. As a parish priest he is active and untiring in every good work. He
has been repeatedly chosen as one of the three clerical delegates from the
Diocese of Alabama to the Triennial General Convention of the church.
He has recently resigned the position of trustee of the University of the
South.
In 1864, after his return from the army. Rev. Mr. Beard was married
to Miss Chandler, then a refugee from Norfolk, Va., which place had
Jefferson Coitiity.
been evacuated by the Confederate military and naval forces. Mrs.
Beard's ancestors had, for generations in the past, been officers in the
American navy, and her abode in Eufaula resulted from the transfer of
her guardian and kinsman, Captain Brown, to the Confederate gunboat
service on the Mississippi.
Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Beard have enjoyed a full share of domestic hap-
piness, and have reared a family of sons and daughters, valuable mem-
bers of Birmingham society, so far as they may have come to years of
maturity.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
This church was organized in May, 1872, by a committee of the
Presbytery of Tuscaloosa, appointed for that purpose. The names of the
original members are as follows: Messrs. C. W. Hughes, T. S. Woods,
Mrs. Mollie Hughes, Mrs. Nancy Hughes, Miss R. A. Hughes, Miss H.
P. Hughes, Mr. P. B. Kennedy, and Miss Sue Thompson — eight in all.
Mr. T. S. Woods and Mr. C. W. Hughes were elected by the people, and
ordained and installed as elders by the committee.
From May, 1872, until April, 1874, Rev. W. L. Kennedy was
employed by the church as stated supply.
Messrs. R. B. Jones and J. K. Spence were added to the eldership,
and Messrs. J. A. and John Going to the board of deacons, in 1873.
Some twenty members were added to the church during the two years
of Mr. Kennedy's stay with it.
The church lost only two members during the cholera scourge in
1873; one, the wife of the minister in charge, and one, the wife of
Colonel Terry.
Mr. Kennedy resigned his charge as stated supply in April, 1874, hav-
ing battled bravely with the fell destroyer and gave up his companion in the
struggle. He moved to Texas, where he still preaches the gospel of love.
From April, 1874, until December of the same year, the church was
without any one to break to them the Bread of Life. The elders secured an
occasional sermon, and kept up the Sabbath school and prayer meetings.
Thus the life of the church was preserved. In August, 1874, at a con-
gregational meeting, presided over by Rev. C. A. Stillman, D. D., a call
was made out and presented to the Presbytery of Tuscaloosa for the pas-
toral services of Rev. L. S. Handley. This call was placed in his hands
by the Presbytery in session at Bethesda Church, Pickens County, Ala.,
October 29, 1874, and was accepted.
Birmingham.
The pastor-elect took charge of the church December 15, of the
same year, and was installed as pastor January 25, 1875, by a committee
consisting of Revs. C. A. Stillman and T. S. Winn.
Dr. Stillman preached the sermon, proposed the constitutional ques-
tions and delivered the "charge" to the pastor. The Rev. T. S. Winn
delivered the charge to the people. This occasion is still remembered by
a few as a deeply interesting and solemn one. The pastor and his " little
flock" of twenty-five members took their first communion together and
pledged themselves to the work before them on that day. It was a "day
of small things" but a day of hope. During the first year the member-
ship was more than doubled. The little company had a "mind to work,"
and the "Lord of the harvest" blessed their labors. For several years
the struggle was a hard one. The church felt keenly the "pressure of the
times" during the years 1877, '78 and '79, when there was but little
development in the city and great apprehensions entertained on the part
of many as to its future.
Notwithstanding the hard times and discouragements for four or five
years, the church grew constantly in numbers and in Christian work.
Since 1880 its development has been more rapid and substantial, thus
keeping pace, in a good degree, with the growth of the city. The mem-
bership has even maintained, as a whole, a high degree of Christian mor-
ality and influence, and has shown considerable zeal for the development
of the cause of Christ in this city.
In March, 1875, Mr. W. H. McNeil and Mr. D. R. Dunlap were
added to the board of deacons. In 1877 Mr. McNeil was called to the
eldership. In 187S Mr. William Berney and Mr. J. A. Allen were
elected and set apart to the office of deacon, and Mr. J. A. Going was
called to serve the church in the eldership. In 1880 Messrs. Allen,
Berney, and White, and in 1883 Messrs. Hubbert, Sherrod, and Anglin
were added to the eldership. In 1884 Dr. Godden was elected to the
eldership, and Dr. F. D. Nabers and Captain J. C. Henley were elected
to the office of deacon. Later Messrs. Roden, Rochester, and Elliott
were called tn serve in the same office.
In May, 1886, Messrs. T. A. E. Evans, J. E. Webb, and John
Going were added to the board of elders.
There have been many changes, by death and removal, so that but
few of the members who were here at the beginning of the present pasto-
rate are now left.
During the last few years the growth of the church has been rapid.
In 1885 over one hundred members were added. The Second and Third
Jc^cyson Coimty.
Presbyterian Churches have grown out of the First Church. They are
both doing efficient work in their respective localities.
The house of worship of the First Church was removed from Elyton
in 1872. The self-sacrificing labors of a few accomplished this work with
the aid of friends. The building has undergone many valuable repairs
from time to time. It has been enlarged to accommodate the wants of
the congregation, and now seats comfortably something over four hundred.
Much of the work done has been through the ladies of the church. They
have ever abounded in love and good works. Mainly through their labors
the church manse was erected in 1883.
The "Ladies' Aid Society," composed of the Christian women of
the church, has been an element of strength and help in all the history of
the church. They have often gladdened their pastor's heart in "coming
up to the help " of the Lord's work in time of need.
Early in 1886 the church addressed itself to the noble work of a new
church building to cost not less than §25,000. Efficient committees were
appointed and a liberal subscription made. The work is now being
vigorously prosecuted and will be completed in the near future. The
church building will be modern in style, with ample and comfortable
seatings, and, when completed, a very imposing structure. It will remain
a monument to the faith and love of the Lord's people to his cause.
The church has now a membership of three hundred and fifty, a
flourishing Sabbath school, seven elders, six deacons, a Ladies' Aid
Society, a young ladies' " Working Circle," and the society of "Young
Workers," a society of children.
The prospects for the future were never brighter or more hopeful,
"The Lord has done great things for us, whereof we are glad. To him
be all the praise."
Rev. L. S. Handley,
Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, was born near Morgan's Hill,
Dallas County, Ala., the 29th of September, 1840. His father was
William L. Handley, his mother Malinda M. Handley, nee Morgan.
She was twice married — first to Mr. Nunnelee.
Mr. Handley moved to Louisiana in 1848, where he lived on the farm
with his parents until the year 1856, when he returned to Alabama, and
made his home with his half brother, Mr. S. F. Nunnelee, who was a
father to him. (His own father died in Louisiana in 1853.) He learned
the printer's trade, and worked with his brother, who was editor and
Birminghaju. 223
proprietor of the Eutavv Observer. While in Eutaw he connected himself
with the Presbyterian Church, and became one of its active young
members.
It was here his attention was turned to the gospel ministry by his
friend, Robert Crawford, then a young lawyer, and his pastor. Rev. John
R. Bowman.
He placed himself under the care of the Presbytery, and started to
school in 1858, pursuing his studies one year under Professor Derby, then
rector of the Episcopal Church in Eutaw.
He afterward entered a high school for boys at Pleasant Ridge, Ala.,
■under control of the Messrs. Archibald, who were successful as teachers.
He entered the army in 1862 as a private soldier, with the Thirty-
sixth Alabama Infantry, and shared the fortunes of war with the brave
men in that regiment, serving under Generals Bragg, Johnston, and Hood.
He received his parole at Greensboro, N. C. , in May, 1865.
He returned to his brother's home, near Eutaw, the latter part of
May, 1865, and took charge of a school for one year.
He prepared for college under Professor Tutwiler, at Greene Springs,
Ala. , a man of blessed memory.
He entered college at Oxford, Miss., in 1867, and graduated in i86g,
with a class composed largely of ex-soldiers.
He studied theology at Columbia, S. C. , for three years, and gradu-
ated in May, 1872; was licensed by the Presbytery of Tuscaloosa the 13th
of June of the same year at Hebron Church, in Pickens County, Ala.
He took charge of two churches in Greene County, Ala., and was
ordained to the full work of the ministry in June, 1873.
He served the churches at Clinton and Boligee, Ala., for two and a
half years — his first pastoral charge. Here he lost, by death, his com-
panion, who lived to help him in his work only one year.
She was Miss S. C. Lewis, of Oxford, Miss., an accomplished,
Christian woman, who made many warm friends in both churches before
her death.
These churches grew substantially during this short pastorate, and he
gave them up with reluctance.
Mr. Handley took charge of the Birmingham Presbyterian Church
the 15th of December, 1874. He was installed as pastor of the 'First
Church by a committee of Tuscaloosa Presbytery January 25, 1875. His
history has been identified with the history of this church for twelve years.
He has had the joy of seeing the "little handful" of brave Christian souls
grow into a strong church ; of seeing a town of 3,000 grow into a city of
2 24 Jefferson County.
35,000. He is tenderly and strongly attached to his people, who have
stood by him, and worked with him, in the cause of Christ.
He has taken part in the organization of the Second and Third Pres-
byterian Churches, which grew out of "missions" planted and worked hy
the First Church.
Mr. Handley was married, a second time, to Mrs. Cornelia P. Windham
June 20, 1876 — the daughter of Rev. A. C. Ramsey. She has been to
him a worthy helpmate in all his work ; shares with him the esteem and
love of his church, and the success of his labors. Their union has beea
blessed with five children — precious pledges of their love. These are
growing up around their table "like olive plants," and give promise of
being a joy and crown to them in their later years.
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
This church is an offshoot from the First Presbyterian Church of
Birmingham. It was organized July 1884, by Rev. James Watson. The
place of worship was then a schoolhouse on Avenue E, between Tenth
and Eleventh streets. Eleven members were of the congregation. Sep-
tember I, 1 886, the congregation moved into their new church on Avenue
C, between the same streets. There are now some sixty members, and
the church is in a prosperous condition. Dr. E. H. Sholl, one of the
leading physicians of the city, is superintendent. Rev. James Watson is.
the pastor, and Rev. Mr. Lapsley is the assistant pastor.
THE THIRD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
was organized by a commission of the Presbytery of Tuscaloosa, at the
corner of Avenue G and Twenty-second street, on Friday night, July 11,
1884. The commission consisted of Rev. L. S. Handley, Moderator; Dr.
E. H. Sholl and J. M. Thomson, Ruling Elders, assisted by the Rev.
James Watson, Evangelist of the Presbytery, and Rev. W. H. Clagett,
Evangelist of the Synod of Alabama. Thirty persons enrolled their
names, and were received into the membership of the Third Presbyterian
Church, four were received by certificate from the First Presbyterian
Church of Birmingham, and twenty-six upon examination and confession
of their faith in Christ, eight of whom received the ordinance of baptism.
Bb'mingha77i . 225
Two ruling elders and two deacons were elected, and set apart to their
several offices. The Third Presbyterian Church of Birmingham was then
declared by the moderator to be duly organized in the name of the
"Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."
J. M. Thomson and J. H. McCune were elected Ruling Elders, and
C. H. Reid and George D. Rice, Deacons. The first trustees were elected
August 10, 1884. They were : J. M. Thomson, M. W. Steele, and J. H.
McCune, with all the powers of a building committee. Charles H. Reid
was, at the same time, elected Secretary and Treasurer.
The Rev. James Watson was the first pastor, preaching once a month,
but prayer-meetings were conducted regularly every week ; also a Sabbath
school.
Rev. James Watson became the regular pastor October i, 1884.
The committee began operations toward building a place to worship
in the fall of 1884, under instruction to " erect a modest wooden building
with brick basement, to cost about ^2,500; to build as they have means,
and finish when their subscription list is enlarged adequately for that
purpose." This building was completed in 1886.
The pastors have been Rev. James Watson and Rev. W. M. Brimm.
In a narrative of the church, found in the records, we find this
touching allusion to one of its early pastors :
"This narrative cannot be closed without bearing testimony to the
faithful and consecrated labors of the Rev. William H. Clagett in preach-
ing the gospel before and after the organization of the church. The
early organization is due to the ' power ' with which he preached ' Christ
and him crucified. ' His name and labors of love will ever be cherished
with profound gratitude and sincere affection."
The church is located on the corner of Avenue F and Twenty-second
street.
The present pastor is Rev. W. M. Brimm, and the elders are J. M.
Thomson, J. T. Moore, A. F. Brainard, and E. G. Brownlee.
The membership now numbers eighty, and the Sabbath school sixty
scholars.
The deacons are C. Reid and H. E. Klein.
The church is in a flourishing condition and growing steadily.
2 26 Jefferson Cojinty.
THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in Birmingham
in 1876 by Rev. J. C. Armstrong, with about eighteen or twenty
members, March, 1887, there were one hundred members, and a Sunday
school of thirty pupils average attendance.
In 1878 the congregation built a new church on the corner of Fifth
avenue and Eighteenth street. The building is a frame one, and has a
seating capacity of about three hundred. The church also has a neat
parsonage on the corner of the same lot with the church.
Rev. W. C. Denson is now the pastor.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH.
In 1 87 1, when the prospective city had scarcely been laid off, and yet
had begun to be the talk far around, the Home Mission Board of the
Southern Baptist Convention appointed Rev. John L. D. Hillyer a mis-
sionary to Birmingham. He came in the fall of that year, when there
were not over one or two hundred houses here.
The first church was organized June 21, 1872, with about twelve
members. Mrs. N. F. Miles is the only member now left who was in
the organization, and N. F. Miles is the next oldest. At the time of the
organization he had not brought his letter from Montgomery. Rev.
Hillyer served until October 3, 1872.
Rev. E. S. Smythe, of Oxford, Ala., succeeded Rev. Hillyer February
16, 1873, and served till January i, 1874. During his pastorate the
church began the construction of a house. Until they got their house
ready for use they were kindly given the use of the houses of the Metho-
dist and Presbyterian brethren.
February 25, 1874, Rev. C. A. Woodson, of Virginia, took charge,
and he served until October 25, 1874. In the spring of 1875 Rev. A. J.
Waldrop, of Jefferson County, agreed to fill the pastorate until a regular
pastor could be obtained. October 15, 1877, Mr. Waldrop retired, and
on December 12th following Rev. J. H. Hendon, of Union Springs, Ala.,
became pastor. Up to this time the church was quite small and labored
under trying adversities, and scarcely attracted any notice in the commu-
nity. The pastor could do little more than hold the small flock together.
Mr. Waldrop left the church fairly on the road to success.
Birmiftg/iant. 227
Mr. Hendon's salary the first year was ;?500, supplemented by $300
from the Home Mission Board. His plan was gradually to bring the
church up, year by year, until they could pay the whole salary, and thus
become self supporting, and in this he succeeded. He had great faith in
Birmingham, and yearned over the work most ardently. His physical
system was not equal to the labor required in this field, and, in 1882, he
was forced to take a respite. He returned very little improved, and
resigned November 29, 1884. Loving the work and his people as he did,
it was with great sorrow of heart that he gave it up, and resigned after
five years of faithful, successful labor. During his pastorate the church
enjoyed two most refreshing revivals. The first was in the spring of 1878,
under Major Penn, of Texas, and his chorister, Mr. Hart. About sixty
were added to the church, and some of the best members now in this
church, as well as in the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches, were con-
verted at the Penn meeting.
The second was conducted by Rev. D. I. Purser, and his brother,
Rev. John F. Purser, now pastor of the Baptist Church at Troy, Ala.
It lasted several weeks and added seventy-seven to the church. Both
Penn and the Pursers had peculiar, but common-sense methods, both
drew large audiences, and both left broad and lasting influences in the
community.
Rev. D. I. Purser had been elected to act as joint pastor during Mr.
Hendon's absence, in 1882, and when the latter was forced by ill-health to
resign, Mr. Purser resigned also, and Rev. Dr. W. O. Bailey, of Texas,
having been elected, became pastor January i, 1883. Dr. Bailey served
a little more than one year, when D. I. Purser was again elected pastor,
and entered upon his work April i, 1884.
At this time the church had become about two hundred and fifty
strong, and was able to pay their pastor about ;^i,200 salary, beside mak-
ing considerable contributions to missions abroad. In 1882 a new house
was decided upon, and several thousand dollars subscribed, but owing to
a change in pastors then the matter was dropped. During Dr. Bailey's
time the new church building was again discussed, but nothing decisive
was done.
In 1884 the pastor and church set about in full earnest to have a new
house. After much discussion it was decided to build upon the old lot,
and not on the one purchased in 1883. By the spring of 1885 a plan had
been decided upon, and in the summer of that year the work was begun.
In the meantime O'Brien's Opera House was rented for one year. At
the close of 1S85 the church gave up the Opera House. They have been
2 28 fcjferson Coinify.
able to worship in the new church since January i, 1886. Through the
untiring perseverance of Dr. Purser, aided by a number of active brethren
and sisters, and we should add by Captain C. C. Hardman, superintendent
of the work of building, the new house was ready for dedication February
28, 1886 Dr. J. B. Hawthorne, of Atlanta, preached the dedication
sermon from Romans xiii : 10, "Love is the fulfilling of the law,"
to about eleven hundred people. The house was packed to its fullest
capacity, and the sermon elicited great enthusiasm. At the close Dr.
Purser stated that $1,500 was needed "to-morrow " to set the house and
furniture free from all encumbrance. The amount was raised in a few
minutes, in contributions of gioo, $50, and $25, and some ;^io, after
which S237 was raised by the basket collection. A very liberal portion
of the amount was given by Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians,
and outsiders. It was a grand occasion, a grand success, and led by one
of the grandest of men, Dr. J. B. Hawthorne. The new church and fur-
niture complete cost $12,500.
The year 1885 was marked in the prosperity of the church and church
work, as in the progress of the city. In addition to the grand work
just mentioned, three new churches, all the outgrowth of mission work,
were organized, and are now worshiping in new houses of their own.
The present membership of this church is now about five hundred,
the financial strength has been increased in proportion, and the whole is
better organized for efficient work than ever before.
The mission stations organized and conducted by the young men of
the First Baptist Church, in the year 1885, are as follows:
The South Side Mission was organized into the South Side Baptist
Church January i, 1886, with Dr. W. C. Cleveland as pastor. The
church is flourishing, with a membership of seventy-seven.
The second mission was also organized into a church in the spring of
1885, with Rev. J. F. Purser as pastor, formerly assistant pastor of the
First Church. They have a membership of seventeen.
The West End Mission was organized into a church in the fall of
1885, with Rev. Mr. Hogan as pastor. They have a membership of
twenty-three.
Cotton Mill station has not yet organized into a church, but still
maintains a flourishing Sunday school.
The Smithfield Land Company has recently donated them a lot to
build a church upon, which will be organized at an early day as the Elyton
Mission, which maintaiiTs a Sunday school.
At the Avondale Mission a good Sunday school is progressing, and a
^"Q- byEQWdhsms.e.'Bro'i^evf^-^-"^
y J^U^(y(^
Birmingham.
church to be soon erected upon land donated by the Avondale Land Com-
pany, with Rev. W. A. Hobson as pastor. North Birmingham has also
donated a lot for a church building, as will doubtless all of the other land
companies, upon which church buildings will be erected in the coming
year.
This work has all been accomplished under the pastorate of Rev. D.
I. Purser, who has done, perhaps, more for the cause of religion than any
other man in this section.
Rev. D.wid Ingram Purser.
The subject of this sketch Vvas born in Copiah County, Mississippi,
December 24, 1843. His parents, originally from South Carolina, easily
traced their ancestry into the active scenes of the Revolutionary War,
where some of them were distinguished for their deeds of devotion in that
great struggle. In their westward emigration they sojourned for a year
or two in Pike County, Alabama, thence on to Mississippi, the native soil
of our subject.
Mr. Purser had limited scholastic advantages, but, after his connec-
tion with neighborhood schools in his native community, at the age of
sixteen years he entered the high school at Hazlehurst, Mississippi, where
he spent seven months in diligent application to study. He was reared
on a farm and in a quiet country home, where the native talent for the
practical uses of things, the habits of industry, and close attention to
business were developed and cultivated to a degree which has very greatly
facilitated the success of his life in other departments of noble effort.
The next turn in his life worthy of special mention is the fact that he
entered the Confederate service at the age of seventeen and a half years,
going to the front with the second company that left his county, ' ' The
Seven Stars Artillery," a company whose selection of a name was put in
nomination by himself. He went through the war at his post, and was
present and participated in sixteen hard-fought engagements.
In early life, immediately after the war, and before entering the min-
istry, by his energy and adaptation to business he made an independent
competency, so that during his whole ministerial career he could have
lived in sufficient bounty without assistance from a ministerial salary ; but,
believing that the workman is worthy of his hire, and that Christians
should be trained to maintain that principle, he has claimed his salary like
all other true and faithful ministers.
On a profession of faith in Christ he united with Damascus Baptist
Jefferson Coiinty.
Church, in the country near Hazlehurst, at the age of eleven and a half
years. That church, recognizing his gifts, gave him license to preach the
gospel in iS68, but, diligently engaged in secular pursuits, he did not act
upon his license for two years, when the church sent a committee to inform
him that he must enter the work or surrender his license. After prayer-
ful reflection he began actively to preach the gospel, and in October, 1870,
four months after, he was ordained to the full functions of the ministry.
His first year in the ministry was devoted to missionary work in West
Mississippi, between Natchez and Port Gibson, a region of seventy-five
miles. In this mission he constituted three new churches and gathered
and established four scattered ones. At the end of the year he was pastor
of seven churches, besides having done much other evangelistic work.
His next work was rendered as pastor of the churches in Crystal
Springs and Wesson, Mississippi, two flourishing towns. The ckurch at
Wesson was a small body when he took charge of it, but it increased with
great rapidity, and became a very strong church. The church at Crystal
Springs was not less flourishing. He left that work at the call of the
State Mission Board of the Mississippi Baptist Convention.
During his connection with that Board he arose into eminent distinc-
tion as an evangelist, and pressing demands were laid upon him from other
States, and in response to these calls he visited and labored with remark-
able success in most of the principal cities from New Orleans to St. Louis ;
meanwhile he declined pastoral calls which came from several important
cities. It was while he was engaged in this succession of brilliant work
that he made his first visit to Birmingham — a visit which proved a great
blessing to the cause of his denomination in this city, and won the hearts
of the Baptist people here.
In 1883 he was called to the work of State Evangelist by the State
Mission Board of the Alabama Convention. For twelve months he held
revival meetings in the cities and centers of influence in our State, which
were invariably attended with success.
It was a sublime day for the Baptists of Birmingham when he
accepted the call of the First Church in this city, and entered on his
work as their pastor April i, 1884. His church — then the only white
Baptist Church in the city — had only two hundred and seventy-eight mem-
bers, was in a state of inefficiency, imperfect organization, and worship-
ing in an unsightly and uncomfortable house, quite inadequate to hold his
congregations.
Mr. Purser seems to have entered this rapidly-growing city with the
ideas both of pastor and evangelist — as pastor of the First Church and
Birmingham. 2,^3
evangelist for the whole city and its environments. He came among us
with the fixed opinion that church extension is a proper theme for the
pulpit and a legitimate topic in social visiting and pastoral work. Over
the Baptist interests of the Magic City he at once became bishop of the
situation, and knew how to manipulate the responsibilities of his functions.
His own church has been for a year past worshiping in a magnificent new
house, modern, elegant, and grand, with capacity to seat nine hundred
people. His membership now numbers about five hundred. Many have,
from time to time, gone out to form new churches. The church is a
wealthy, intelligent, orderly, and thoroughly-organized body, with com-
mendable liberality, a large congregation, and an excellent Sabbath
school. While he has thus developed his own church, he has kept in
constant view his idea of church extension, and as fast as communities
have formulated around he has inspired the planting of missions and
Sabbath schools, secured lots for church sites, and, in most of these posi-
tions, houses have been erected in comfortable chapel form and churches
have been organized ; and now, instead of one, his denomination has four
white churches, with efficient pastors, and several promising missions.
Two of these new churches are now so strong and efficient that they con-
template building elegant houses at an early day. In addition to his
active devotion to the cause and his consummate tact, being a man of large
means and liberality, he is capable of handling men of position and
means, and this has been used wisely in securing church lots and in erect-
ing chapels. When this end could not be achieved otherwise he has
largely used his own money to carry his point. He has had the will, the
way, and the capacity to do the needed work, and it has not been simply
talked about — the work has been done and is being done. With all his
ministerial work faithfully done, he has the gift of manipulating money
successfully, and, as he rapidly moves along, he takes a turn at that quite
frequently, and never conceals it. He seems to act on the principle of
the English bishop, who said: " I am first a man, then a minister ; and,
however sacred the work of my office, I will not forget that I am a man,
with the rights of a man." As a preacher in the pulpit he is evangelical,
clear, instructive, and bold. His subject is placed at once under his
command, and, with extemporaneous discussion, abounding with appro-
priate illustrations and eloquent pathos, the subject commands the audi-
ence. He makes frequent use of current events, and therefore is some-
times called a sensational preacher, to which he does not hesitate to reply
that "Sensation is better than stagnation." He has the gift of stirring
inert things into action, and the adroitness of sweeping along with a reiig-
14
234 Jefferson County.
ious revival or a secular boom. Tall, erect, earnest, pleasing, with excel-
lent mannerism, addressing himself to all classes and all vocations, he is
emphatically a man of the people — of all grades of people.
Mr. Purser has been twice married, and among all the successful
events of his career these alliances have been the chiefest. On October 7,
1864, he was married to Miss Dicy Jane Bass, of Covington County, Mis-
sissippi, a lady of fine person, intellectual, cultivated, brilliant, a devout
Christian and an earnest worker in the Master's cause, and eminently
"a keeper at home." To the tact and management of this worthy wife
of his youth does our subject attribute, in a large degree, his success in life
as a minister of Christ. She was the mother of six children, three of
whom have departed this life. She died September 13, 1879.
His second marriage was with Miss Sallie A. Moody, of Tuscaloosa,
Alabama, on June 28, 1883. Miss Moody had already reached distinc-
tion in the higher relations of social life, and that distinction was based on
family elevation, wealth and cultivation, earnest piety, and active Christian
enterprise. She was the daughter of Judge Washington Moody, a man
of noble standing in the city of Tuscaloosa and in the State, and the only
sister of an only brother, Mr. Frank Moody, now president of the First
National Bank in that city. Cheerful and graceful everywhere, she is espe-
cially so in her charming home, where hospitality abounds and good
nature rules. Her Christian character may be seen in her devout conver-
sation, generous liberality, and active effort. She is, at this, time in charge
of a Sabbath-school class of nearly one hundred men, and this energy
has been true of her work in both Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. She is
now the mother of two children — a daughter and a son.
In conclusion, it would be unjust to the distinguished brother of Mr.
Purser, who worked so long side by side with him, if we should fail to
mention him ; we refer to the Rev. John F. Purser, for some time mission-
ary pastor of South Side, now the popular pastor in Troy, Ala.; the
sweet singer, as well as the gifted preacher, who accompanied the elder
brother through much of the evangelistic work referred to above, and
whose sublime songs of Zion charmed the multitude and thrilled the
Christian hearer.
Birnimgham. 235
THE FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH,
-was organized in February, 1872, on the corner of First avenue and
Twenty-first street, where now stands Frank Gafford's livery stable, in a
small wooden building which was erected for a storehouse. The building
was rented by the Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians,
each denomination having service under its own minister. The North Ala-
bama Conference, which met in November, 1871, did not consider Birming-
.ham of sufficient importance to send it a preacher for 1872, but stationed
Rev. T. G. Slaughter at Elyton, the old county seat of Jefferson County, one
and a half miles distant. Through his kindness we succeeded in getting
preaching once a month for a while, and the church organized. He
organized with a membership of about seventy-five. Prominent among
these were R. H. Roberts. J. D. Lykes, Dr. J. W. Sears, J. T. Wil-
son, Mrs. M. T. Hines, Mrs. Dr. Sears, Mrs. J. D. Lykes, Mrs. D. F.
Constantine, and many others. Dr. Slaughter was called away by the
■bishop, some time in the spring, to take charge of the church at Oxford,
Alabama, vacated by the death of the appointed pastor, after which time
we only got preaching as we could catch a preacher on the wing and
press him into service. Soon after the organization of the church a com-
mittee was appointed to raise funds to build a house of worship. The
Elyton Land Company gave us a lot 100 x 190 at the north-east corner of
Sixth avenue and Twenty-first street, where, by the middle of June, 1872,
we had erected, what we then considered, a neat and comfortable build-
ing, at a cost of ^1,600, and it was dedicated by Bishop Doggin in Decem-
ber, 1872. Our people were then all poor, but I must say I never knew,
in all my life, a nobler or more liberal band. From $50 to $100 was paid
by poor men to get the house built. In November, 1872, when the North
Alabama Conference met, we were sent a regular pastor in the person of
Rev. T. H. Deavenport. Though very small of stature, yet with a warm
heart and a big brain, he filled the pulpit with marked success and ability.
In the summer of 1 873, when the cholera raged, bringing death, desola-
tion, and suffering in our midst, this man of God was on his feet and on
his knees, night and day, doing all in his power to help the needy and
minister to the sick and dying. The millionaires who have invested in
•and about Birmingham may receive the commendations of the press, but
Rev. T. H. Deavenport should be held in everlasting remembrance by the
people of Birmingham. Though the members of our church were all
poor, they abounded in their liberality, paying from year to year for the
236 Jefferson County.
support of the pastor, some $50 and some gioo. In 1874 and 1875 Rev.
W. L. Clifton was pastor. He was a man of splendid physique and large
brain, a fine preacher, and an excellent man. Under his charge the
church prospered. Dr. W. C. Heam was the third pastor, from 1875 to
1877. Some regarded him a Talmage ; indeed, the doctor is a fine
preacher and an accomplished gentleman. Under his ministry Birming-
ham had her first revival. The doctor is now superannuated, in feeble
health, and resides at Talladega, Alabama. From 1877 to 1881 Dr. J. W.
Christian served us. He was an able minister, a devout Christian, of sweet
disposition, and most excellent character. He died in Birmingham as
editor of the Alabama Christian Advocate. Rev. J. W. Newman served
the church from 1881 to 1884. Mr. Newman did a fine work for the
church, both in the pulpit and in his pastoral ministrations. The past two
years Dr. Hardie Brown has been the pastor. Dr. Brown is one of the
finest scholars in the South. His sermons are all highly finished, and
every sentence sparkles with gems of thought. The doctor is doing a fine
work for the First Church, and is much appreciated by his people.
When the new church was built the writer was not then a resident of
Birmingham, having entered the North Alabama Conference as a travel-
ing minister. The building of the new church was agitated during the
first year of Dr. Heam's ministry, was continued under the ministry of
Dr. Christian, and newly completed at the close of his term at a cost of
about ;g20,ooo. It is situated on the corner of Fourth avenue and Nine-
teenth street, and is an ornament to the city, but is not large enough to
accommodate its immense congregation. It has a membership of about
six hundred, containing many of the wealthiest citizens of Birmingham.
Rev. Hardie Brown, D. D.,
the present pastor of the First M. E. Church, Soutih, Birmingham, Ala.,
was born in Sumner County, near Gallatin, Tenn. Until seventeen or
eighteen years of age he worked on his father's farm in the spring and
summer, going to school for a few months in the fall and winter of each
year. He obtained his first instruction in the rudiments of a classical
education at the Gallatin Academy, under the tuition of Professor Mal-
lory. After an attendance of a session or two there, he was appointed
assistant for a short time in that institution. He taught a private school
for one session, after which he entered the Sophomore Class at Cumber-
land University, Lebanon, Tenn. After graduation he was elected tutor
Birmingham . 237
in the preparator\' department of the University, which position he held
for one collegiate j-ear. He was then offered the place of assistant in the
Dallas Male Academy at Selma, Ala., which place he held for five
months. Then succeeding the principal, J. T. Dunklin, he remained at
the head of this school one year, when he was called to Summerfield,
Ala., where he taught Greek and Latin in Centennary Institute. He
remained at Summerfield two years, having married there. He was then
admitted into the Alabama Conference and sent to the Jonesboro Circuit,
whence he went into the Confederate army as chaplain of the 28th Ala-
bama Regiment, and went through the campaign around Corinth, Miss.,
and through Bragg's march into Kentucky. He resigned the chaplaincy
of that regiment and was sent by the conference to Spring Hill Circuit, in
Marengo County, Ala. After fulfilling the term of his appointment
there, he was sent to the Perryville Circuit, but did not fill out the year,
as he again went into the army, and was captured in the battle of Selma
and imprisoned for a short time. After the war he was elected principal
of the Prattville Academy, which position he held two years, afterward
moving to Mississippi. He was a member of that conference two years.
He was then transferred to the North Alabama Conference, and stationed
for three years at Florence. After this pastorate he was elected Professor
of Ancient Languages at the State Normal School, which position he held
eight years, and was then elected to succeed Professor S. P. Rice as pres-
ident of that school. In the meantime he filled the pulpit at Courtland
for three years, and at Decatur one year. After having held the presi-
dency of the State Normal School for three years and a half, he resigned,
and was appointed by Bishop Keener pastor of the First M. E. Church,
South, at Birmingham.
ST. JOHN'S METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH,
corner of Seventeenth street and Avenue E, South Side, was organized by
Rev. Z. A. Parker, in November, 1884, with eighteen members. A new
house was built at once, and in twelve months, November, 1885, the
membership had increased to one hundred and twenty-eight. In Novem-
ber, 1886, Rev. L. F. Whitten, the present pastor, reported that there
had been over four hundred accessions in one year, with more than three
hundred and forty conversions. So that the growth of this young church
in the past year is almost without precedent in the annals of church history.
The house is already too small, many hundreds having been unable to get
238 Jefferson County.
seats the past fall. This church has built a parsonage for the pastor this
year at a cost of |1 1,600. A bright future is promised the members of
St. John's Methodist Church.
Rev, J. D. Pierce,
Pastor First Methodist Episcopal Church, Birmingham, was born in
Laurel, Franklin County, Indiana, April 3, 1845.
In September, 1861, in the sixteenth year of his age, he entered the
Union army as a musician for the term of three years, the last two of
which he was principal musician of his regiment.
In November, 1864, after three years and two months' service, he
was honorably discharged and returned home to engage in the peaceful
pursuits of life.
In October, 1865, he, with his father's family, removed to Shelby ville,
Indiana, to take charge of the leading hotel of that city. In the following
January he was converted and united with the Methodist Episcopal Church,
his parents being members of the Presbyterian Church. In February he
began the study of medicine with W. F. Green, M. D. , of the same city,
and in the fall attended his first course of lectures in Chicago. He
attended his second course of lectures in Cincinnati, where he graduated
in February, 1870.
He practiced medicine five years, during which time he achieved con-
siderable success in the treatment of chronic rheumatism, having cured'
cases of from two to forty years standing.
During the time he was engaged in medicine, his friends, as well as
himself, were impressed that he ought to enter the ministry. But as his
prospects for succe.'ss in his chosen profession were very bright it was with
great reluctance that he gave up medicine for the ministry. Becoming
satisfied, however, that it was his duty to try to preach the gospel, he,
upon the recommendation of his presiding elder and quarterly conference,
was received on trial in the traveling connection by the South-East Indiana
Conference at Madison, Indiana, Bishop Foster presiding. In September,
1875, after serving in that conference six years and a half, on account of
the health of himself and wife, he transferred to this State and settled at
Andrew's Institute, DeKalb County, May, 1882. In November of that
year he was appointed to the Wills Valley Circuit near his home.
At the close of 1883 he was stationed at the First Methodist Episco-
pal Church in Birmingham. During the time he served this charge,
nearly two years, his labors were greatly blessed. ^
P>ir7ningkam. 239
From September, 1885, to 1886, he was stationed in Spirit Lake, Iowa,
but as the climate disagreed with his family he returned to Alabama and
was appointed by Bishop Fowler to succeed Rev. L. H. Massey (who
succeeded him the previous year) as pastor of the First Methodist Epis-
copal Church in Birmingham.
Mr. Pierce's wife is a daughter of the late Col. James H. Grant, the
builder and resident engineer of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad,
and cousin to Captain John A. Grant, who recently resigned the position
of chief engineer of the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad
to become the general manager of the Texas Pacific.
THE FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, NORTH.
The building stands on the corner of Nineteenth street and Avenue
C. It is a neat, framed structure, gothic in style, and located in the cen-
tral part of that side of the city. Its first pastor was Rev. J. B. Tope,
under whose administration it was erected in 1881, and dedicated by the
Rev, I. W. Joyce, D. D., of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the same year. In it
two sessions of the Alabama Conference have been held, the first by
Bishop Matthew Simpson, D. D., LL. D., in 1881, and the second by
Bishop J. M. Walden, D. D., LL. D., in 1884. Bishop Cyrus D. Foss,
D. D., and Bishop W. F. Mallahin, D. D., have also preached from its
pulpit. It has been served as pastors by the Revs. J. B. Tope, E. H.
King, W. P. Miller, J. D. Pierce and L. H. Massey. At its altars many
have been converted, and following their denominational preferences have
gone into other communions, while others have united with it, according
to the law of the denomination, on a probation of six months before
taking its vows, and during the time, proving unfaithful, have been dropped
without admission into full connection ; while still others, proving faithful,
have, from time to time, been received, both from probation and by letter.
Thus the growth of its membership has been slow but substantial, and
after losing many by removals and tran.sfers, it now numbers one hundred
and fourteen full members and probationers. It has a live Sunday school,
which meets at 9.30 a. m., has preaching Sunday morning and evening,
prayer-meeting on Wednesday evenings, and a weekly class-meeting, which
services are all well attended by its members and friends. The Rev. L.
H. Massey is its present pastor. He is a young man, a native of North
Carolina ; was graduated in East Tennessee Wesleyan University (now
240 Jefferson County.
Grant Memorial), in 1880, and after one year as a professor in Holston
Seminary, in Tennessee, and five years in the pastorate, he was transferred
to the Alabama Conference, and sent to Birmingham, in November, 1885.
Under his labors the memberhip has been considerably increased, and a
new church has been established in the western part of the city, and on the
corner of Ninth street and Third avenue, North Side, stands the
SECOND METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
a handsome, framed building, just starting on its journey of usefulness and
mission of purity and love. The erection of this structure is largely due
to the labors of Rev. C. W. Miller, as assistant to the pastor in the latter
part of 1886. It stands, the only church building in that part of the city,
in the midst of a growing population, and has before it a hopeful future.
THE CHURCH OF DISCIPLES, OR CHRISTIAN CHURCH,
was organized in this city in April, 1885, by R. W. Van Hook, the State
evangelist of said church, with a membership of twenty men and women.
Previous to this time a small number of earnest, energetic women
had been striving for several months to keep up a small Sunday school.
Owing to much opposition and many discouragements they had found this
exceedingly difficult, and but for the indefatigable efforts of our dear
deceased sister, Mrs. A. J. Clarkson, and her warm coadjutors, Mrs. J. P.
Tillman and Mrs. Levi Hege, it would have been an unsuccessful effort.
But trusting — as such women do trust — in a Higher Power for help, they
succeeded in keeping together the small band in this progressive city, who
chose to wear the name of Christ alone, and to take the Bible as their
only guide, creed or doctrine. There is not a member of the Church of
Christ in this city but feels his heart glow with love and gratitude to Mrs.
Clarkson for her untiring efforts to effect an organization — her zeal and
encouragement when others were almost discouraged. She has already
received her reward in her Master's commendation. Feeling that her
place could scarcely be refilled, all felt the necessity of redoubling their
eftbrts, and the Lord has blessed them.
In April, 1885, Mr. R. W. Van Hook, then of Greene County,
knowing of their weak condition, came to their relief He held a meet-
Birnihighain. 241
ing, which resulted in much encouragement to all. It was at this time
that the organization was effected. For some time after their organiza-
tion this small body of Christians met in Sublett Hall, "and continued
steadfastly in the Apostle's doctrine, in fellowship, in breaking of bread,
and in prayers."
We give some names of charter members, viz : Messrs. C. Perkins,
Harry Harsh, J. E. Lee, Henry Brown, Mrs. Perkins, Mrs. A. J. Clark-
son, Mrs. J. P. Tillman, Mrs. Levi Hege, Mrs. Boone, Misses Palmer,
AUie Boyer, and Mamie Jolly.
They were all earnest, warm workers, and in spite of many trials,
never wearied in their united effort to do for their Lord and Master by
prayer, faith, and works, all their capacity and earnestness enabled them
to do.
Being unable to keep Sublett Hall, for some reason of its owner,
they succeeded in getting the consent of the officers of the Young Men's
Christian Association to use their reading room until they could make
other arrangements. They met here till December, 1885, when they
obtained use of tiie courtroom, where they are, at present, holding their
Lord's-day services.
Their financial condition is fairly good. They have purchased a lot,
and have almost sufficient money to begin building their house of worship,
which, Lord willing, they will do this spring of 1887.
In addition to purchasing the lot, and the building fund, they have,
since October, 1886, arranged to pay the State evangelist for half his time,
leaving the other half for State work. Their membership has increased
from twenty to about one hundred, including many of the most prominent
business men in the city.
They have a progressive Sunday school, with Messrs. G. R. Harsh
and Chick as superintendents, and with energetic teachers and wide-awake
pupils. The Sunday school numbers about sixty pupils, and all are much
interested.
A mission school has been organized in Avondale, with C. A.
Schoolar as superintendent, and is in quite a flourishing condition.
In January a day was appointed for a meeting to organize a Ladies'
Aid Society. Some time since the younger members of the Sunday
school were organized into a society under the name of "Little Builders."
We are happy to state that both church and Sunday school are in
a prosperous condition.
242 Jefferson County.
CONGREGATION EMMANUEL.
The Jewish inhabitants of Birmingham are among its most substan-
stial trades people. They appear in works of general interest to society,
and in the city government, with marked influence. Their religious
organization dates from April 23, 1882, when the Congregation Emmanuel
was organized with thirty-two members, and without a rabbi. The meet-
ings of the congregation were held irregularly in various churches of the
city loaned for the purpose.
The effort was finally made to build a synagogue, and the beautiful
brick structure, corner Fifth avenue and Seventeenth street, was begun
June, 1886, to cost $12,000 to $15,000. The present membership is
eighty-five.
No regular offices from a rabbi have thus far been obtained, although
Dr. Rosenpitz officiated for four months in the latter part of 1886.
The board of trustees are Samuel Ullman, A. S, Hirscher, B. M.
Jacobs, H. Lazarus, E. Gusfield, A. Stern, S. Spiro, J. R. Hochstadter,.
of which Mr. Hirscher is president.
COLORED BAPTIST CHURCH.
This is a brick edifice, erected on Sixteenth street and Seventh ave-
nue, and an imposing style of ecclesiastical architecture.
Rev. W. R. Pettiford is the pastor, and the church is in a highly
prosperous condition. Mr. Pettiford has retained his charge since Jan-
uary 15, 1883, and under him the present beautiful church building has
almost been completed. The history of the church building is one of
honor to the pastor and his people. With only ^$300 in the treasury they
went on with laying the foundations, and step by step, with hard work
and grievous delays, accomplished their purpose. The church has cost
$6,000, and will, when fully completed, cost $8,500. The lot is worth
$10,000, or better. There are about 400 members of this church, and
four stations are also conducted by it.
2
^^.
.C-<
Birmingham. 245
COLORED METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHES.
These are prosperous religious bodies. One edifice is of brick, the
others are frame. All are well kept, and attended by orderly congrega-
tions. Services are regularly held.
There are other colored churches in the city which do honor to the
negro race. They are owned by their congregations, and are mostly out
of debt. They occupy lots in the central parts of the city, and are orna-
mental to the general architecture.
JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The spirit of public education is greatly promoted in this county by
the activity of the county superintendent, Mr. S. L. Robertson, a native
of Huntsville, Ala., and an ex-Confederate soldier. The State law
increased his salary recently in appreciation of his fidelity and efficiency.
There are both common and high schools embraced in the system.
The high schools teach the subjects necessary to prepare youths for college.
At present the cost of white schools is sustained, to the extent of one-
third, by the State and county funds ; the colored schools to the extent of
two-thirds.
The common schools receive a greater pro rata of the public fund
than the high schools. The public funds at present only allow for main-
taining the schools for three months in the year. The supplemental, or
private, fund must be relied on for the remainder of the time.
The teachers are faithful, and the system is progressive. "^
CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The value of school buildings, and other school property, in Birming-
ham is probably $75,000. A direct appropriation is made by the city
government, which relieves pupils of all tuition fees. The schools,
therefore, are entirely free. The wealthy classes send their children to
receive instruction from them, and thus parents, who themselves are
educated, and who have leisure to watch the interest of their children,
become the guardians of the common schools. Both moral and intel-
lectual training is enforced, and the schools are an honor to the city.
246 Jefferson County.
The public school organization is composed of a board of education.
The city government does not control it. The board elects a superin-
tendent and the necessary teachers, and performs all other acts of
administration, except fixing the amount of income to be expended.
The board is now composed of the following influential citizens and
patrons of the schools: A. O. Lane, President; J. L. Watkins, Vice-
President; A. S. Elliott, W. J. Rushton, D. D. Smith, Samuel Ullman,
and George L. Thomas. City Clerk H. U. McKinney is ex officio
Secretary of the Board.
Professor J. H. Phillips is Superintendent. He is an enthusiast in his
profession, and is intelligent in the direction of the most modern methods
in the schools.
The race division is adopted in the system. The colored schools have
colored teachers. The most careful supervision is given to them by the
board and by the superintendent.
An interesting feature of the system pursued by Professor Phillips is
the division of the scholastic session by special celebrations. " Shaks-
peare Day," "Burns Day," etc., are respectively dedicated to observance
of the memory of the dead poets, historians, and the like. " Arbor Day "
has been fixed for Washington's birthday, and upon this occasion the
schools will annually unite in planting trees in the public parks, and other
proper places.
The schools, after being graded and located, have been named in
honor of eminent citizens of the city : "Powell School," for James R.
Powell, the founder of the city ; " Henley School," for Robert H. Henley,
the first mayor ; "Paul Hayne School," for the Southern poet. One of
the colored schools is named, in honor of the mayor, "Lane School."
The number of pupils enrolled in all the schools January i, 1887, was
about 2, 100, of which, say, 700 were colored.
THE BANKS OF BIRMINGHAM.
A commercial observation respecting Birmingham has always been
the rapid, though steady, progress of the merchants and the smaller
manufacturers. The city is annually acquiring increased importance as a
distributive center for a varied trade. Its wholesale transactions cover
every year greater territory than the year before. The city wholesale
trade has made possible a score of villages with their retail and bartering
commerce with farmers, mechanics, and miners. Values of all kinds
Birmingham. 247
appreciate under this network of enterprise, and the channel through
which the whole of this trade flows is the banks of the city. We will see
that these institutions have steadily grown in number, and yet relatively
more in ability. This fact is readily accounted for in the steady and
upward course of the trade of the merchants. In these facts is the
unmistakable evidence that the commerce of Birmingham has been free
from feverish excitement at all times ; that it has received no shocks from
over-trading, or from dishonor among merchants. The tens of thousands
of dollars, in small amounts of cash, paid out weekly to laborers who live
in and near the city, and who spend it freely, go to the banks through the
stores. In this progress we have the indice to the future of the banks of
the city. They are the aids to an industrial life whose sources arc both
of the strongest in resource and of the most varied and the most readily con-
vertible. Thus far the pig-iron industry and coal have supplied the main
commerce. But there are developments already assured which will
diversify the business of the city, and add to the safety of the trade and
the banks. Many kinds of iron and steel manufactures from Birmingham
pig-iron will enter commerce, and this commerce will be as solvent as the
solvency of communities in every part of the Union, and ultimately of
the Central and South American States.
Besides the iron manufactures in bridges, chains, piping, stoves,
railroad rails, engines, etc., which support healthy commerce, the Birming-
ham trade will be largely based on cotton, to come from various parts of
Alabama and Mississippi, attracted here by the compress and facilities for
market. The completion of the railroads from Columbus, Miss., and
Memphis and Sheffield to the north ; and the completion of the line, almost
an air line, to connect with the roads in Georgia leading to Savannah, will
open the shortest rail communication possible between the Mississippi and
the Atlantic.
Thus it is evident that the future of banking in Birmingham is com-
mensurate in promise with all the wonderfully-varied and equally-powerful
resources of the surrounding country. Stagnation of business can never
overtake a country where the climate is never too cold or too hot to forbid
a full day's work ; where crops may be planted upon the open fields every
month in the year; where the ores of Red Mountain and the coke of
Pratt Mines are in less than a half day's time of the magnificent prairies
on one side, and that land of matchless fertility and beauty on the other,,
the Valley of the Tennessee.
248 Jefferson County.
Charles Linn.
The banking interest of Birmingham, now amounting to about one
• and a half million of dollars, has in the subject of this sketch its founder.
Born of Swedish parents, in Finland, he passed for thirty years an
eventful career on the sea, from cabin boy to captain of his vessel, during
which time he crossed the Atlantic sixty-four times, and made three trips
around the world.
Emigrating to America in 1836, he was engaged in various mercan-
tile pursuits until 1840, when he engaged in the wholesale mercantile
•trade in Montgomery, where he established one of the most successful
business houses in the South. During the war he disposed of his busi-
ness and attempted to run the blockade with a vessel, but was captured,
and taken, as a prisoner, to New York, where he was paroled. Subse-
quent to the war he became the financier of Messrs. Flash, Lewis & Co.,
wholesale grocers, of New Orleans, his son, C. W. Linn, having an
interest in the firm, with whom he remained until the death of his son
in 1 87 1. In the same year he came to Birmingham, and purchased from
the Elyton Land Company the lot on which the First National Bank
now stands. The property was 50x100 feet, and the price paid was
;?400. The Elyton Land Company presented him with a lot 20x100
feet on 20th street adjoining, and upon it Mr. Linn erected the first bank
building in Birmingham, at a cost of ^4,000. He immediately organized
the First National Bank. It was incorporated under the name of the
-National Bank of Birmingham, with Mr. Linn as President.
Keen of perception, and quick to recognize the future greatness of
his adopted home, he erected, in 1872-73, the handsome and substantial
structure now known as the First National Bank Building, at a cost of
$2,6,000, at that period one of the most elaborate and costly in Northern
Alabama. Standing alone in its greatness, it was the mark of ridicule,
and was long known under the sobriquet of " Linn's Folly." To-day it
is the best business corner in Birmingham ; the center of the vast com-
•mercial interests of the city, and is valued at not less than $200,000.
In all enterprises tending to promote and advance the interests of
Birmingham Mr. Linn was one of the leaders. He organized the Linn
Iron Works, manufacturing as heavy machinery as any constructed south
of the Ohio River; was greatly interested in developing the mineral wealth
of Alabama, sending experts to analyze and examine the different coal and
iron deposits, and assisted in building the first coke ovens.
Bh'iningham. 249
He was one of the first stockholders of the Elyton Land Company,
and firm in the faith of the great future of Birmingham he was a large
investor in real estate.
Mr. Linn was a Lutheran in his religious belief, but was charitable
to all denominations, and a liberal donator to all good works.
His name will always be honored as one who did all in his power to
lay the city of Birmingham upon a broad and substantial foundation.
Mr. Linn was married three times, and has four children now living:
Edward W., Cashier of the First National Bank; Mrs. Ellen L. Watts,
widow of T. H. Watts, who was a business man of Birmingham ; Mrs.
A. L. Henley, wife of John C. Henley, and Mrs. L. L. Scott, widow
of W. L. Scott, a popular citizen of Birmingham, who was drowned in
1885, while on a pleasure trip to Florida.
Mr. Linn died August 7, 1882, aged sixty-eight years.
The National Bank.
Mr. Charles Linn was a man of clear judgment. He came to
Birmingham in its early days to fix his fortunes here. On Twentieth
street he reared a building for a bank. This was in the summer of 1871.
The National Bank of Birmingham was organized October, 1871. The
incorporators were Charles Linn, James R. Powell, President of the
Elyton Land Company and Mayor of the city, Bryant Tully, M. H.
Jordan, Willis J. Milner, James O'Connor, and B. P. Worthington, with
a paid-up capital of $50,000.
The oiTficers elected were Charles Linn, President ; James R. Powell,
Vice-President ; Travers Daniel, Cashier. After a year's service Mr.
Daniel resigned his position, and Robert B. Jones was elected to fill it.
After three years Mr, Jones resigned, and William Berney was given the
place. After seven years service Mr. Berney was elected President to
fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of the founder and first president,
Mr. Linn. W. L. Scott became Vice-President, and John C. Henley
Cashier.
250 Jefferson County.
The City Bank.
T. L. Hudgins, Josiah Morris, and W. S. Mudd organized a private
banking establishment in April, 1880, with a capital of ^80,000. It was
soon chartered as the City Bank of Birmingham, with T. L, Hudgins,
President, and W. J. Cameron, Cashier, and the capital increased to
;? 1 00, 000.
The First National.
May 15, 1884, the City Bank was merged into the First National.
The consolidated capital stock controlled by the latter institution, under
the terms of consolidation, was ^250,000. William Berney was retained
as President; John C. Henley became Vice-President; W. J. Cameron,
Cashier, with E. W. Linn, Assistant Cashier.
The bank greatly prospered with the acquisition of new capital. March,
1885, President Berney sent in his resignation. William A. Walker, Jr.,
a member of the leading law firm of the city, a native of the vicinage,
and a large stockholder in the bank, was elected to succeed Mr. Berney.
The able cashier, however, was expected practically to act the part of
president. Mr. Walker could not surrender his practice, to which he was
devoted, not only from affection for the science of law, but because of
its rich gains to him in fortune. Cashier Cameron proved to be fully
equal to the place. Mr. Walker soon discovered that his extensive legal
clientele frequently imposed duties upon him at the bar inconsistent
with his position as president of a Birmingham bank. Therefore, on
January 6, 1886, the next annual meeting of the stockholders, he
tendered his resignation as president to the directory, and Cashier
Cameron was unanimously elected to fill his place by rank, as he had done,
for some months, by assignment of duties to be performed. In this
reorganization of bank officers W. J. Cameron became President; J. C.
Henley Vice-President; E. W. Linn Cashier, and T. O. Smith, a son of
the owner of Smithfield, Assistant Cashier.
The present directors are : T. L. Hudgins, William A. Walker, Jr.,
H. M. Caldwell, P. H. Earle, T. T. Hillman, W. T. Underwood, W. J.
Cameron, John C. Henley, and E. W. Linn.
The offices of the First National Bank of Birmingham are now the
best arranged and the most handsomely furnished in the State.
BirtninghLxm. 253
Condensed Statement of the Condition of the First National Bank, December
31, 1886.
RESOURCES.
Loans and discounts 111,255,980 03
Overdrafts 55, 802 40
United States bonds 50,000 00
Other stocks and bonds 66, 230 00
Real estate, furniture and fixtures 52,573 84
Expenses and taxes 11.341 40
Premiums 10,750 oo
Due from United States Treasury 4,632 75
Due from banks 433,298 92
Cash 279,227 03
$2,219,836 37
LIABILITIES.
Capital stock $250,000 00
Surplus and profits 78,093 94
Circulation 45,000 00
Deposits —
Banks $ 63,097 90
Individual 1,783,644 53 — 1,846,742 43
$2,219,836 37
At a meeting of the board of directors held this day, a dividend of
6 per cent, was declared from the earnings of the past six months, paya-
ble January 4, 1887. E. W. Linn, Cashier.
The Alabama National Bank.
The Alabama State Bank was organized in April, 1884, with Joseph
F. Johnston, President; T. B. Lyons, Vice-President; John W. Read,
Cashier. The Board of Directors were J. T. Hardie, T. B. Lyons, E.
W. Rucker, A. O. Lane, J. W. Sloss, Joseph A. Shakespeare, and
Joseph F. Johnston. The capital stock paid in was $200,000. The
bank doubled its first six months of business in the following six months.
In less than eighteen months it was paying 16 per centum per annum
on its capital.
In January, 1887, the corporation increased its capital stock, paid in.
2 54 Jefferson County.
to 11500,000, and thus became the largest bank in the State. The name
was then changed to the Alabama National Bank. It is honorable to the
business integrity of Birmingham that the increase was made, on the recom-
mendation of the president, because of the success of the previous aid given
by the bank " to business men and manufacturers." It was further to aid
these classes that the advice was accepted. Among the new stockholders
who promptly subscribed to the increased capital are Josiah Morris, of
Montgomery ; Mr. Norton, President of the L. & N. Railroad system ;
Mr. Fetter, President of the Kentucky National Bank of Louisville ; Mr.
Johnston, President of the First National Bank of Columbus, Mississippi ;
Mr. Spurr, President of the Commercial National Bank of Nashville, and
other bankers of national reputation.
The corporation owns its own handsome building at the corner of
First avenue and Twentieth street.
Joseph F. Johnston, the president of this bank, is a native of Lin-
coln County, North Carolina, where he was born in 1843, ^^he son of a
gentleman of wealth and culture. In his seventeenth year he left his
educational advantages to enlist in the ranks of the Confederate army.
Five wounds and promotion to a captaincy attest the devotion of his sol-
dier's career.
Coming to Alabama Captain Johnston read law, and soon formed a
co-partnenship with a young North Carolinian, Captain R. M. Nelson,
who had also been a Confederate soldier. Captain Nelson is now president
of the Commercial Bank of Selma, and a gentleman of distinguished influ-
ence in social and business circles.
Mr. Johnston has been long known as a faithful worker in the poli-
tics of Alabama. He was chairman of the Democratic State Executive
Committee in a trying period, and distinguished himself in that position.
He has been invited to allow his name to be used for succession to the
gubernatorial office in Alabama, but he has not thus far been ready to
accept political preferment.
Mr. Johnston is now president of the Sloss Iron and Manufacturing
Company of Birmingham, with a capital stock of ^3, 000, 000.
The Jefferson County Savings Bank.
The erection of this bank presents a typical example of individual
experience in Birmingham. It is the result of the prosperity of an honest
man who began at the foot of the ladder of fortune. Charles Enslen, the
founder, came to Birmingham a stranger and a day laborer. He is a Ger-
^da7^^ /^^/y^^^^
Birmingham. 257
man by birth. Fidelity to the small things given him to do established
his character in a community whose judgments of men and their methods
and motives hew to the line. Mr. Enslen made fortunate investments,
and used the suggestions of discretion, and a quick and sagacious mind, to
detect opportunities for the employment of his earnings. Soon he had
accomplished independence. Like the prudent head of a family, he first
provided for them a comfortable home. His means grew to proportions
which required his whole attention to the management of them. Thus, in
casting about for some large enterprise to employ them, he fixed upon the
then great need of the city in which he had cast his lot — a savings bank.
He bought a lot in 1885 on the corner of Second avenue and Twenty-first
street for ^7,500, which three or four years before had been sold for ^350.
The location was a central one, convenient to the industries which entiploy
the working people. Upon the spot he built a four-story brick building
with Mansard roof, the lower floor being devoted to the bank offices.
The proprietor of the enterprise remained steadily all day among the work-
men directing in person the excavations for the foundation and the laying
of every brick. His work progressed somewhat tardily, as the passers-by
noted, but in due time he had completed a beautiful building, and one
acknowledged to be, at that time, the most substantial in the city.
The bank was chartered November 2, 1885, with a capital stock,
owned by the founder, of 5SO,ooo. It threw open its doors to a prosper-
ous business long awaiting it.
The incorporators were Charles F. Enslen and his two sons, E. F. and
Charles Enslen.
The officers have been, from the opening, Charles F. Enslen, Presi-
■dent ; E. F. Enslen, Cashier, and Robert H. Sterrett, Attorney at Law,
attorney for the bank.
In January, 1887, this bank increased its capital stock to ^150,000 —
threefold in fourteen months.
The Berney National Bank.
Upon the retirement of Mr. Berney from the presidency of the First
National, he organized, on March 26, 1885, the Central Bank, with a capi-
tal stock, paid up, of ^50,000.
This bank is situated on First avenue, between Nineteenth and Twen-
tieth streets. It is an extremely tasteful architectural design, and adds
greatly to the effect of the avenue. It is built of pressed brick, orna-
mented with white stone. The front is chiefly plate glass. The building,
258 Jefferson County.
and necessary space around, it only occupied half of the lot bought by Mr.
Berney when he began to prepare to build the bank. In less than a year
from the date of the purchase of the lot he sold the half, not required for
the bank, for as much money as the entire area had cost.
The incorporators of the Central Bank were William Berney, Robert
Jemison, L. D. Aylett, Joseph McLester, and T. H. Aldrich. The char-
ter was obtained, and the bank began business on the date above men-
tioned.
The business of this institution has gone forward by bounds. In nine
months from the date of incorporation it had doubled its capital stock.
The bank was then reorganized and the name changed from the Central
Bank of Birmingham to the Berney National Bank. The officers chosen
were William Berney, President ; Robert Jemison, Vice President ; J. B.
Cobbs, Cashier, and W. P. G. Harding, Assistant Cashier.
In less than twelve months from this first reorganization, with double
the original capital stock, the Berney National had the second time
increased. Its capital stock now is ;?300,000, or sixfold the original capi-
tal stock — this accomplished in less than two years from its foundation.
These facts become notable in view of the rapid strides real estate has
made in Birmingham. It is evident that there has thus far been nothing
fictitious or perilous in the phenomenal advance in values. They have
moved in general accord and universal sympathy.
The officers of the Berney National Bank in its latest reorganization
are William Berney, President ; W. P. Armstrong, President of the City
National Bank of Selma, one of the oldest and strongest of the Southern
banks of the new era, Vice-President ; J. B. Cobbs, Cashier, and W. P.
Parish, of Selma, Assistant Cashier. Among the larger stockholders in
the reorganization are John H. Inman, of New York ; W. P. Armstrong,
of Selma; Enoch Ensley, of Pratt Mines; H. F. DeBardeleben, R. H.
Isbell, of Talladega; T. T. Hillman, P. T. Vaughan, of Selma, and others.
The confidence which the Berney National Bank has been able to
arrest and attract to the city of its location is of the first consequence. It
has done its full part toward creating stability in values, even when they
advance rapidly from point to point.
/ r .^^^:%«;^j55'-f-;<j9^-^^*?'-^«'^-''
Birmingham. 261
The Birmingham National Bank.
This institution will be incorporated in April, 1887, with a paid-up
capital of $250,000, subscribed by nearly one hundred of the leading busi-
ness men of Birmingham.
The President is to be John W. Read ; Cashier, H. C. Ansley. It
will occupy handsome quarters in the Roden Block, Second avenue and
Twentieth street.
The banks and banking capital of Birmingham, March 1, 1887, may
be summarized as follows:
First National r;ip;tai, 5250,000
Alabama National " 500,000
Savings . . . , " 150,000
Berney National " 300,000
Birmingham National " 250,000
J. R. Adams, private banker " 50,000
Total banking capital $1,500,000
SUBURBAN LAND COMPANIES.
AvoNDALE Land Company. — One of the leading incentives to the
construction of the first in order of the Birmingham street railways was
to connect a suburb called Avondale with the center of Birmingham.
The distance is about one and a half miles. The principal incorporators
of this railway company comprise the Avondale Land Company.
Avondale Park consists of a forty-acre inclosure of romantic wooded
mountain side, abounding in bold springs. There are walks laid off, seats
provided, and a floor for dancing, laid under a canopy. There is a natural
cave on the company's property of much interest. Picnics and moonlight
parties from the city delight to patronize its free accommodations.
The company has purchased considerable land around the park, sur-
veyed lots, and has been very successful in disposing of them to settlers
and manufacturers. Land which did not cost it more than $1, or even
half that amount, per foot, is now readily sold at $25 to $75, or into the
hundreds, three years after the original purchase. The stock of the com-
pany is held at $4.25 to ?5 to one, face value.
The president is B. F. Roden.
262 Jefierson Coiatty.
Smithfield. — West of Birmingham city limits, one and a half miles
down the valley, is the suburban village, Smithfield. The area comprises
500 acres, once a cornfield. Bordering the valley part is a narrow line
of hills, yet in the scrubby growth of a virgin and rocky soil.
Three years ago the owner of this tract of land, Dr. Joseph R. Smith,
decided to lay it off, after a plan of his own fertile brain, into streets and
avenues, and to offer lots for sale and settlement. It was found that good
water could be obtained by sinking wells into the rocks, beneath the sur-
face, from twenty-five to seventy-five feet deep. So long as the territory
should remain sparsely inhabited, these wells would supply suitable water.
When residences should be erected on lots, not too far apart, one well
would readily supply several families. The breezes from the mountains
fanned Smithfield, and in the hottest day the wide expanse of open area on
every side secured a current of pure, fresh air. A wholesome draught of
pure water, not dangerous to health, as is ice, but cool and refreshing
from the rocks beneath, was at command of the cottagers at all hours.
Smithfield assumed a color of romance from the first. It is a solid
name it bears. It means an honest purpose in every feature. Coming to
the broad avenues and streets, we find them called after the names of the
living, or dead. Smiths. Here in Birmingham we go to the arithmetic, with
its hard figures for the most unromantic of nomenclature for our high-
ways. But the highways of the suburban town went to the family tree
of the Smiths, and immortalized genealogy by fixing its record in the
map of a city.
The founder of Smithfield determined upon this unique scheme for
perpetuating family history. The avenues were laid off from due east to
due west, and these he named for the female members of the Smith family
backward into the generations, to cover as many names as there were
highways. Therefore we have Cornelia, Louisa, Kate, Sallie, etc., ave-
nues. The streets crossing the avenues at right angles are John, Thomas,
Mortimer, etc. The eastern border of the limits is a wide boulevard called
Walker street. This is named for Mr. William A. Walker, one of the
early settlers of Jefferson County, and of Elyton, and a life-time friend of
Dr. Smith. Bisecting this site of the town is a wide, macadamized pub-
lic highway, running with the compass from east to west, which is called
Smithers' boulevard, in honor of the founder's wife's maiden name.
The sale of Smithfield lots began soon after the old cornfield had been
laid off into streets and avenues, which had received their names to the
honor of the family record of the founder. In order to convince the
public of his own confidence in the future of his city-building project. Dr.
Birmingham. 263
Smith laid off on the opposite side of Walker avenue, and therefore
nearer the city, a wide and beautiful oblong drive. The track was well
shaded by the forest growth, and graded at heavy cost to himself The
interior of the ground was cleared of undergrowth, which left hundreds
of shade trees, under which, it was predicted, the spring and summer pic-
nics of the school children would be held. The whole was surrounded
by a substantial plank fence, kept whitewashed, and broken by gates for
the entrance of vehicles on both the Birmingham and Smithfield sides.
Liberal advertising of Smithfield claims, to the attention of investors,
soon brought them to close important transactions in its lots. Year by
year and season by season the prices of Smithfield lots rose higher.
From 5ioo they went to $500. The location seemed favorable to real
estate speculators. It lay between the great Pratt Mines to the north and
their several furnaces, in course of construction. On the same side, but
nearer to Smithfield, was the very strong Pioneer Mining and Manufactur-
ing Company, busily opening mines and building blast furnaces; this
latter being the property of the wealthy Pennsylvanians, theThomases.
To the west, four miles away, was Oxmoor, a growing iron manufacturing
village. To the east was Birmingham and the banks, and the juncture
of nine or more lines of railroad. It seemed plain to the quick eye of
the real estate speculator that in this property lay opportunity for his
safest ventures, even in the season of the most energetic "booms" of
Birmingham.
Smithfield Land Company. — Thus it happened that in the first few
days of December, 1886, a syndicate was quietly formed of leading capi-
talist of Birmingham, who bought about 200 acres of Smithfield at about
$1,200 the acre. The company was organized as the Smithfield Land
Company, and the stock was all sold, immediately, to many eager pur-
chasers.
The board of directors are A. O. Lane, Mayor of Birmingham, J. D.
Moore, J. V. Richards, C. H. Worrell, E. A. Thompson, W. A. Smith,
and W. A. Handley. A. O. Lane is President, and L. H. Martin Secre-
tary and Treasurer. The capital stock of the Smithfield Land Company
is $850,000.
North Birmingham Land Company. — This very strong corporation
has located a town two miles north of Birmingham, on Village Creek.
Its realty consists of some twelve hundred acres favorably situated for
manufactories. It is now erecting a blast furnace of one hundred tons
264 Jefferson County.
capacity. The streets and avenues have been very judiciously laid off
with a view to placing the manufacturing industries of the future on the
low lands bordered by the stream, and the residences of the population
upon the adjacent high lands.
John W. Johnston, President of the Georgia Pacific Railroad, is
President of the company, and his brother, A. B. Johnston, is the Secre-
tary and Treasurer. The capital stock of the company is ,$700,000.
The Village Creek Land Company. — This corporation, with a
capital stock of ;$ 100, 000, was organized September, 1886. They own
forty-seven acres of land two miles from the city, on Village Creek, favor-
ably situated for manufacturing enterprises. They sell lots at reasonable
rates. The lands lie on the western extension of the Georgia Pacific
Railroad, and are suitable for residences for workingmen, being dry and
healthful.
The officers are E. Eastman, President, and B. F. Moore, Secretary
and Treasurer.
East Lake Land Company. — The F)ast Lake property is situated
from four and a half to six and a half miles eastward from the city. It
comprises two thousand acres of land among the hills at the head of
Village Creek.
The organization is capitalized at 5 100 the share, and each share
represents one acre. The capital stock, therefore, is $200,000.
The purpose of the company is to connect their property with the
city by rail. They will then lay off the area into lots for residences and
for the erection of trading shops suited to commerce in family supplies,
dry goods, and the like. They do not propose to encourage the building
of any great iron manufactories. But rather their effort is to furnish
homes for families of workingmen and business men who would escape
the smoke, and other annoyances, of an iron manufacturing town.
Among the plans of the company for beautifying their property is
the creation of a lake of some forty acres, to be formed from the numer-
ous springs around the valley. They will thus have an abundance of the
purest water for all purposes of a town.
The East Lake settlement embraces the Ruhama neighborhood, long
known as the seat of the best educational facilities of Jefferson County,
and as the home of a large number of well-to-do farmers.
The surrounding country is famous for the salubrity and equability of
the climate.
Birmingham. 265
It is evident that East Lake has a distinctive character of its own.
It is an enterprise destined to add much to the value of Birmingham by
creating a delightful place of residence for business men and workingmen
in easy reach of the trade and manufactories of the city. Fifteen minutes
wiL serve for the dummy to run, with the street car attached, from the
center of Birmingham to the center of the East Lake settlement. The
initial sale of lots has been very satisfactory in prices bid.
E.AST Birmingham Land Company. — Late in November a few citizens
of Birmingham organized this promising company. They bought some
six hundred acres of land near Village Creek, to the east of the city, a
mile or more distant from the corporate limits. They have already entered
upon plans to establish important manufactories on their tract.
The English owners of the Alabama Great Southern Railroad are
interested in this enterprise. Altogether, it controls very large capital for
supporting its stock.
The company put its lots on the market as soon as they could be
surveyed, but rapid sales induced it to withdraw them.
Mr. Goldsmith B. West, a well-known correspondent of leading
industrial journals, is President; George C. Kelley, President of the
Baxter Stove Works, is Secretary, and W. J. Cameron, President of the
First National Bank, is Treasurer. This is a very strong organization
and a very active one. The capital stock is $1,500,000.
The lands of this company front on Village Creek and on the Louis-
ville & Nashville Railroad, and will be connected with the Georgia Pacific
Railroad. They are very favorably located for manufacturing enterprises.
The Birmingham-Ensley Land and Improvement Company was
organized December 13, 1886, by H. F. DeBardeleben, R. H. Pearson,
Robert Warnock, J. H. Slaton, John W. Reed, John W. Tomlinson,
James W. Sloss, Jr., and W. P. Pinckard. The object of the company is
to carry on a general manufacturing and industrial business, to buy, sell,
and hold lands, to improve the same by laying off into lots, streets, and
parks, the construction of lakes, race tracks, and other pleasure resorts,
the quarrying of limestone and preparing the same for market, to manu-
facture pig iron, steel, and all other articles which can be made with coal
or coke and iron ore, or from wood, iron, or steel, alone, or in conjunction
with any other material, to erect buildings, dwellings, stores, and shops,
and all machinery to accomplish the ends sought, to build and operate
tramways, railroads, and to construct water works.
266 Jefferson County.
The capital stock is ;^450,ooo, divided into four hundred and fifty
shares. At a meeting of stockholders on December 14, when books of
subscription were opened, more than half the stock was subscribed hna
fide, of which more than 20 per cent, was paid.
The directors are J. H. Slaton, Robert Warnock, J. H. Tomlir.son,
H. F. DeBardeleben, W. P. Pinckard, Andrew Adger, R. H. Pearson.
Officers: J. H. Slaton, President and General Manager; Robert Warnock,
Secretary and Treasurer.
Glendale Land Company. — Was organized September 14, 1886, and
incorporated by D. M. Drennen, John W. Read, and Robert Warnock.
The purpose is to deal generally in real estate, and to improve the same by
laying off streets and avenues, and grading them, and to connect their
property with the city of Birmingham by streets, graded roads, or other-
wise; to build lakes, and to otherwise beautify their possessions.
The capital stock is 268,000, of six hundred and eighty shares, with
the privilege secured of increasing the capital stock. When the books of
subscription were opened on September 20, 1886, all the stock was sub-
scribed by bona fide subscribers. Some of the stock was subscribed in
land and some in money, and the whole of the cash subscription was at
once paid in. The directors appointed were D. M. Drennen, R. War-
nock, John W. Read. Officers: R. Warnock, President; John W. Reed,
Vice-President ; D. M. Drennen, Secretary and Treasurer. All the cash
subscriptions and all the land subscribed were then secured to the com-
pany, the former by actual payment and the latter by legal transfer.
Belt Road Land Company. — Organized December 3, 1886, by F.
W. Gaines, Nashville, Tenn., A. A. Clisby, and A. K. Shepard, Jr., of
Birmingham, Ala. The object is to buy, hold, own, sell, and convey
real estate. The capital stock is $160,000, of 1,600 shares of the par value
of ^100 each, with the privilege of increasing the capital stock to
$300,000.
On the 4th of December all the capital stock was subscribed. The
directors are A. 'A. CHsby, A. K. Shepard, Jr., F. W. Miller. Officers:
A. A. Clisby, President; A. K. Shepard, Jr., Secretary and Treasurer.
Twenty-five per cent, of the capital stock was then paid in by the sub-
scribers.
The Mutual Land and Improvement Company. — Was organized
December 24, 1886, and incorporated by H. Lowenthal, L. H. Schmidt,.
Birmingham. 267-
and E. Lesser. The purpose is to buy, sell, build upon, and otherwise
improve real estate. Capital stock is ^7,500, of 120 shares. December
27 the whole of the stock was taken. A board of directors, composed of
the three names above given as incorporators, was appointed, and H.
Lowenthal was made President, and E. Lesser Secretary and Treasurer.
The Walker Land Company. — Was organized December 31, 1886,
and incorporated by William A. Walker, Jr., John C. Morrow, Mary A.
Morrow, Rufus H. Hagood, and America Hagood, all of Birmingham ;
and Margaret Walker, James C. Long, Fannie W. Long, Thomas S.
Smith, and Lucy E. Smith, all of Elyton. The object is to improve such
lands as they may acquire, and to lay the same off into streets, lots,
parks, and alleys, and to supply illuminating agents of all kinds, and to
carry on a general industrial and manufacturing business.
The capital stock is ^1,200,000, divided into 12,000 shares. The
directors appointed were John C. Morrow, Rufus H. Hagood, James C.
Long, Thomas S. Smith, William A. Walker, Jr. Officers: William A.
Walker, Jr., President; Thomas S. Smith, Secretary. All of the capital
was paid promptly on the completion of the organization of the company.
The South-Side Land Company. — Was organized September 28, 1886,
and incorporated by John Phelan, William F. Smith, and Richard C.
Bradley. The purpose is to buy and sell real estate, and to improve the
same.
Capital stock, $100,000; divided into 1,000 shares. On October 6
all of the stock was subscribed on opening the books by bona fide
subscribers. Directors: John W, Moore, W. F. Smith, John Phelan, M.
Bostick, William T. Wheless. Officers: John W. Moore, President; W.
F. Smith, Secretary ; William T. Wheless, Treasurer. All of the stock
was at that time paid.
Village Creek Land Company. — Organized October 12, 1886.
Incorporated by Benjamin F. Moore, R. D. Smith, and Elwell Eastman.
The purpose is to build upon the land a city to be called " Mound City,"
and the nature of the business it proposes to do is to acquire land by
subscription to the capital stock, and by purchase. The company also
proposes to put up all kinds of industrial enterprises.
The capital stock is $100,000, divided into 200 shares. On October
12, 1886, books of subscription were opened, and 99 per cent, of the
stock taken. The directors consist of B. F. Moore, R. D. Smith, and
268 Jefferson County.
Elwell Eastman. Officers: Elwell Eastman, President; Robert D. Smith,
Vice-President; Benjamin F. Moore, Secretary and Treasurer. All the
stock was paid in lands.
East P^nd Land Company. — Organized November 6, 1886. Incor-
porated by W. P. Pinckard, H. F. DeBardeleben, Andrew M. Adger, and
T. H. Aldrich. The object of the corporation is to deal in real estate, and
the nature of the business is to buy, own, and improve, exchange,
mortgage, and take mortgage on real estate.
Capital stock, $100,000; divided into i,000 shares, with the privilege
of increasing to ^1,000,000. The stockholders are A. M. Adger, 400
shares; W. P. Pinckard, 200 shares; H. F. DeBardeleben, 200 shares;
T. H. Aldrich, 200 shares. Directors: A. M. Adger, T. H. Aldrich, H.
F. DeBardeleben, VV. P. Pinckard. Officers: W. P. Pinckard, President;
A. M. Adger, Secretary and Treasurer. More than 20 per cent, of the
capital stock was paid in money on November 20, and the rest secured to
be paid in installments. All the amount then subscribed was paid into
the hands of the treasurer.
Ensley Land Company. — The petition to incorporate this company
was filed December 7, 1886, by Enoch Ensley, Memphis, Tenn. ; Thomas
D. Radcliff, Pratt Mines, Ala. ; T. T. Hillman, and William A. Walker,
Jr. The principal place of business is to be at Ensley, Jefferson County.
The general purpose and nature of the business is the buying and
selling of lands ; improving the same by surveying and laj'ing off into
lots, parks, streets, and alleys ; to construct gas, electric, or other
illuminating works, and manufacture and sell the products and results
thereof; to construct all kinds of pleasure resorts, to quarry stone; to
manufacture pig-iron, steel, and other articles which can be made with
coal, coke, or other fuel, out of iron ore, or any other ore or metals, or
from wood, stone, earth, cotton, iron, or steel, either alone or in con-
junction with any other material, to buy, use, or sell the same; the
-erection of such buildings, dwellings, stores, shops, and all the machinery
that may be necessary for carrying on such business ; to build and operate
necessary railroads and tramways; to carry on stores, and necessary
mercantile establishments ; to construct and operate water works ; to
construct and maintain reservoirs, conduits, canals, and pipes.
The capital stock, ;gio,ooo,ooo, is divided into ;gioo-shares. Books
of subscription were opened December 8, at the office of Hewitt, Walker
& Porter, and the whole amount of the capital was subscribed \yy bo7ia fide
Birmingham. 269
subscribers. The directors elected were Enoch Ensley, T. T. Hillman,
Thomas D. Radcliffe, William A. Walker, Jr., John H. Inman, of New
York ; William N. Duncan, and Nathaniel Baxter, Jr. The officers
elected were Enoch Ensley, President ; Thomas D. Radcliffe, Secretary
and Treasurer. Twenty per cent, of the capital subscribed was then paid
to the treasurer, and the remainder secured to be paid as required by law.
Cahaba Valley Land Company. — Organized September 20, 1886;
incorporated by Henry Milner, J. B. C. Elliott, James I. Abercrombie,
J. A. Milner, E. S. Jones, J. W. Bass.
The purpose is to buy, sell, and lease real estate ; to buy, sell, and
lease personal property ; to build, sell, and lease houses ; to build rail
and street railroads, tram roads, water works, and to do all other things
necessary to accomplish their purpose. Principal place of business is at
Leeds, Ala. Capital stock is ;?i 5,000, divided into one hundred and fifty
shares, with the privilege of increasing the same. Subscribers to the
capital stock are as follows : Henry Milner, Leeds, five shares ; J. B. C.
Elliott, Leeds, eleven shares ; James L Abercrombie, Leeds, five shares ;
J. A. Milner, Leeds, two shares ; George L. Young, Leeds, five shares ;
Dr. E. S. Jones, Leeds, four shares ; J. W. Bass, Leeds, three shares.
More than 20 per cent, of the capital stock was then subscribed by
these parties in money, which was paid into the hands of the treasurer,
and the remainder secured to be paid in money in installments.
East End Land and Improvement Company. — Organized April 6,
1886; board corporators, R. H. Pearson and T. B. Lj^ons.
General purpose is to carry on an industrial business in Jefferson
County ; to manufacture textile fabrics and all articles of wood, stone, and
metal ; to purchase, hold, and convey real estate and personal property,
and to develop and improve the same. Capital stock is to be :Sioo,ooo,
divided into shares of $100 each, with the privilege to increase the same
to such amount as the stockholders desire. On April 6th more than half
of the capital stock was subscribed by bo7ia fide subscribers, and more
than 20 per cent, of the said amount subscribed was paid in. Directors :
T. B. Lyons, J. V. Richards, George L. Morris, J. F. Johnston, and R.
H. Pearson. Officers: R. H. Pearson, President; T. B. Lyons, Secre-
tary and Treasurer.
The Clifton Land Company. — Organized December 31, 1886, by
B. F. Roden, E. K. Fulton, M. T. Sumner, A. G. Morris, and C. W.
2 70 Jefferson County.
Van Vleck, of Cincinnati, Ohio. The purpose is to carry on any manu-
facturing, mining, or industrial business ; to deal generally in real estate
and personal property; to build and operate railroads, street railroads, and
tramways ; to build and sell houses ; to erect furnaces, factories, and saw
mills ; to own, operate, and sell the same.
The capital stock is ;^225,ooo, divided into 2,250 shares. Only
^190,000 of the stock is to be issued, leaving a reserve fund in the treas-
ury of ^35,000, to be used at the discretion of the company for the
improvement of their property.
Officers: B. F. Roden, President; D. H. Sumner, Secretary and
Treasurer. More than 20 per cent, of the capital then subscribed has
been paid in money to the treasurer, and the remainder subscribed, pay-
able in money, has been secured, and will be paid in installments as
needed for the company's use as by the directors ordered.
College Hill L.\nd Company. — Organized December 7, 1886, by W.
P. Pinckard, H. F. DeBardeleben, W. H. Johnston, Andrew M. Adger,
David Roberts, M. E. Lopez, Augustine T. Smythe, Charleston, S. C.
The general purpose is to acquire lands, by purchase or otherwise,
or subscription to the capital stock.
The capital stock is $210,000, divided into 2,100 shares. On Jan-
uary 7th all the stock was subscribed for by bona fide subscribers, to be
paid in lands and transferred by proper deeds of conveyance to the com-
pany. The officers are W. P. Pinckard, President ; A. M. Adger, Sec-
retary and Treasurer.
Bessemer Land and Improvement Company. — Organized January
6, 1887. Henry F. DeBardeleben, Andrew M. Adger, David Roberts,
Charleston, S. C. ; Moses E. Lopez, Charleston, S. C, and Augustine T.
Smythe, Charleston, S. C, are the incorporators.
The nature of the enterprise is to acquire lands, cither by subscrip-
tion to its capital stock or by purchase or otherwise ; to build a town or
■city, to be called Bessemer, by laying off property for that purpose ; also, to
have parks or other suitable pleasure resorts, to dispose of the lots laid
off, and to build all kinds of industrial establishments and dwelling houses.
Capital stock, $2,500,000, divided into twenty thousand shares.
Directors: H. F. DeBardeleben, Andrew M. Adger, Augustine T.
Smythe, William Berney, Moses E. Lopez, and David Roberts. Officers :
H. F. DeBardeleben, President; Andrew M. Adger, Secretary; William
Berney, Treasurer ; Augustine T. Smythe, Solicitor.
BirmingJiam. 2 7 1
The Bradfield Company. — Organized January 5, 1887, by L. T.
Bradfield, R. L. Houston, John W. Bush, John Vary, William M. Brooks;
to buy, sell, and deal in real estate and coal, and mineral lands, and in
stocks, bonds, bills, notes, and negotiate loans on mortgage securities,
and for the purpose of establishing a general land and collecting agency.
Capital stock, $25,000, divided into twenty-five shares. Each of the
parties named have subscribed for and own five shares of stock.
Highland Lake Land Company. — Organized January 13, 1887, by
A. P. Bush, J. W. McConnell, H. F. Wilson, C. H. Francis, and W. H.
Williams, to deal generally in real and personal property, as may be
necessary to the successful prosecution of their business; also, to have
the right to deal in lumber, and such other materials as are necessary to
build houses.
The object is to buy and sell real estate, to borrow money upon
mortgages of its real estate, to lend money upon mortgages of real estate,
or upon other security, and to improve the real estate of the company by
erecting such structures thereon as may be necessary for the profitable use
thereof.
The capital stock is $250,000, divided into 2,500 shares.
Central Land and Improvement Company. — Organized January 14,
1887, by John B. Boddie, Eugene V. Gregory, Willis J. Milner, Marcel-
lus G. Hudson, Erastus S. Ferryman, David P. Bestor, George A. Pearce,
Charles S. Dumont, William H. Ketchum, Margaret Reese, Orville F.
Cawthon, of Mobile ; Charles Handy, of Atlanta ; John Moore, of Colum-
bia, Tenn.
The capital stock is $250,000, divided into 2,500 shares.
The officers are John W. McConnell, President; Charles H. Francis,
Secretary and Treasurer, and E. T. Taliaferro, Attorney.
Fifty per cent, of the capital stock subscribed was paid to the
secretary and treasurer.
MISCELLANEOUS CORPORATIONS.
Alabama Real Estate and Loan Association. — Organized August
30, 1886, by James T. Meade, Charles M. Erwin, and J. L. Ward, to do
business as a real estate and insurance agency, either for themselves or
others. The capital stock, $15,000, with authority to increase to $100,000,
is divided into 150 shares of the par value, $100,
272 Jefferson County.
All subscriptions, payable in money and property, were then delivered
to the treasurer.
North Highlands Company. — Organized December 6, 1886. The
petitioners for incorporation were John W. Johnston, John B. Boddie,
and A. B. Johnston. The purpose is to buy, sell, hold, improve real
estate, and to rent the same, and to build on the lands acquired, when
expedient to further the ends of the company.
Buildings are to include shops, mills, foundries, furnaces, and other
works, or establishments such as may tend to the development of its prop-
erty in and around Birmingham. The principal place of business is to
be in or near Birmingham. The capital stock, $350,000, is divided into
3,500 shares.
On January 10, 1887, all the capital stock of the corporation was sub-
scribed, payable partly in money and partly in property, at its money
value, named in the subscription.
The officers elected were John W. Johnston, President ; A. B. John-
ston, Secretary and Treasurer.
All the subscriptions, payable in money and pro])crty, were then
delivered to the treasurer.
North Birmingham Building Associ.\tion. — Organized December
6, 1886, by John W. Johnston, A. B. Johnston, John B. Boddie.
Capital stock, g 100,000.
Alabama Co-operative Company. — The general purpose is to da
business as manufacturers, money-lenders, and borrowers, and real estate
and personal property owners, and to buy, own, sell, and deal generally
in such real and personal estate and securities as may be necessary to the
successful conduct of their business. The capital stock is S 10,000, divided
into 100 shares of the par value, $100.
The following officers were elected : Grattan Britton, President; E. T.
Cox, Vice-President; R. M. Brown, Secretary and Treasurer.
Birmingham Corrugating Company. — Incorporated January 13, 1886,.
by Richard W. Boland, W. T. Underwood, VV. G. Lunsford, A. O.
Lane, and Goldsmith B. West.
The purpose is to corrugate iron and other metals ; to stamp, galvan-
ize, or otherwise manufacture and sell the products of mines and furnaces,
and to manufacture and sell mineral paints. The capita! stock is$ioo,000-
of 1,000 shares.
Birmingham.
Birmingham Investment Company. — The object is to invest a certain
amount of capital paid in by each member in such speculative
enterprise as the Association shall, from time to time, direct. Each
member pays into the common fund $5 per share monthly. The capital
stock consists of two hundred shares of ^100 each, payable in monthly
installments.
Rogers Printing Company. — Incorporated December 29, 1886. The
purpose is to carry on a general publishing, printing, and lithographing
business; to manufacture, deal in, and bind blank books. The capital
stock is ;^2S,ooo. On January 1 more than 50 per cent, of the stock was
subscribed, all of which was paid in. The officers are George H. Rogers^
General Manager and Treasurer; Hooper Harris, Jr., Secretary.
Ullman Hardware Company. — The object is to engage in the buying
and selling of hardware building material. The company is composed of
a general partner, .Samuel Ullman, of Birmingham, Ala., and Julius
Weiss, of New Orleans, La., special partner. Each partner contributed
^10,000. The partnership is to continue two years, from November i,
1886.
The Watts Coal and Iron Company. — Incorporated May 4, 1886,
by J. F. B. Jackson, Blount Springs, Ala. ; Norman W. Smith, Birming-
ham, Ala. ; Eugene Morehead, Durham, N. C. ; A, W. Graham, Hills-
boro, N. C.
The general purpose is to carry on a mining and manufacturing
business. The place of business is at Warrior, Jefferson County, Ala.
The different purposes are to mine and sell coal, to mine iron ore,
and other minerals, to manufacture coke, and to use and sell all the above
articles, and to operate blast furnaces ; to own, sell, and construct turn-
outs, tramroads and trainways, and the right to condemn the right of way
for railroads ; to own, sell, and hold and dispose of real and personal
property.
Capital stock, $210,000, to be increased at the necessity of the
corporation. Two thousand one hundred shares, at the meeting to
complete the organization May 6, 1886, more than one-half of the capital
stock, were subscribed, and 20 per cent, placed in the hands of the
treasurer, and the rest secured to be paid.
16
2 74 Jefferson County.
The Birmingham Paint, Glass, and Wall Paper Company. — Incor-
porated by John C. Hendricks and T. T. Ashford, of Birmingham, Ala.,
October 28, 1886.
The object is to buy, manufacture, sell, own, and deal generally,
either wholesale or retail, in paints, oils, glass, wall paper, window shades,
picture frames, moldings, sash, doors, blinds of every kind and descrip-
tion, and to deal in personal and real estate to such an extent as will
further their business, and to borrow and lend money in carrying on the
business. Capital stock, $10,000, of 100 shares.
Birmingham Insurance Company. — Organized April, 1883. Capital
stock, $100,000. B. F. Roden, President ; H. M. Caldwell, Vice-Presi-
dent ; John G. Smith, Secretary and Treasurer.
The business of the company has been very successful.
Iron and Oak Insurance Company. — Organized February, 1886,
with capital of $200,000, divided into 200 shares. The name of this
company is indicative of the homes of its incorporators, Birmingham, the
Iron City, and Tuscaloosa, the Oak City. Robert Jemison is President'
and John G. Smith Secretary.
The company does a general fire and marine insurance business, and
is highly prosperous.
Roval Insurance Company. — Organized August, 1886, with $100,000
capital, and thirty-five stockholders. F. C. Morehead is President ; F.
C. Dunn, General Manager. Outstanding risks by January i, 1887, had
reached $1,500,000. The business reached by it is as far off as Boston,
New York, Philadelphia, and Fort Leavenworth, and is prosperous.
Land and Investment Agency. — Organized January 17. 1887, by
R. D. Peck, J. T. S. Wade, and J. L. Ward. General purpose is to con-
duct a real estate agency and to invest money for clients on commission.
The capital stock of the corporation is $5,000, divided into one hundred
shares. Officers: R. D. Peck, President; J. T. S. Wade, Vice-Presi-
dent and Manager.
Alabama Asphalt Mining and Land Company. — Incorporated
January 6, 1887. The company proposes to develop asphalt, petroleum,
coal, iron, gold, silver, copper, tin, zinc, and lead, and oleaginous
substances. The capital is $300,000, of 3,000 shares. Charles L. Handy
BirmingJiam. 275
is President; C. M. Erwin, Secretary and Treasurer; D. T. Marable,
General Manager; H. L. Watlington, Attorney. The whole amount of
the capital stock has been paid to the treasurer of the company. The
asphalt branch of the business is very promising.
Three Rivers Coal .\nd Iron Company. — Incorporated January 7,
1887, by M. L. Hershey and G. W. Ellis, of Morris, Ala. Principal place of
business is to be at or near Birmingham. The general purpose is to
engage in handling farming lands, timber lands, mineral lands, and city or
town lots, and other lands, timber rights, mineral rights, natural gas
rights, to develop the same. Also, to erect furnaces, mills, coke ovens,
and all other establishments for the purpose of the preservation and
reduction of wood, coal, coke, pig-iron, and all other productions of ores
and minerals; to build railroads, houses, towns, and waterworks.
The capital stock is ;g45,000, 450 shares, with the right to increase.
At a meeting of those interested on January 6, 1887, ;?22,6oo was
subscribed, and more than 20 per cent, has been paid on the subscriptions.
G. W. C. Lomb, President ; S. A. lillis. Secretary.
First National Coal and Iron Land Company. — Incorporated
January 17, 1887, by F. W. Miller and F. B. Clements. Its object is to
buy and sell real estate and personal property of all kinds, and also to
borrow and lend money, with the right to charge a commission for said
loans besides the legal rate of interest, and a commission on sales of real
estate and personal property, and also to do such other things, and to
exercise all such other rights, as may be necessary and convenient in
carrying on their business. The capital of the company is ;^2, 500,000,
divided into 25,000 shares.
Peacock Coal, Iron, and Improvement Company. — Incorporated
January 18, 1887. The principal place of business is at Birmingham. It
is the purpose of the company to carry on industrial business ; to engage
in the manufacture of textile fabrics, and all articles of wood, stone, and
metal ; to purchase, hold, and convey real estate and personal property,
and to develop and improve the same.
The capital stock is fixed at $200,000, of 2,000 shares. The incorpo-
rators were B. A. Thompson, J. C. Kyle, and P. H. Moore.
North Alabama Colored Land Company. — Organized January 5,
1887. The nature of the business is to buy and sell real estate, to build,
276 Jefferson County.
rent, and lease houses, and to do a general land business, and to buy and
sell wood, and to promote among the negroes the industries of agricul-
ture, mechanics, and the training of skilled labor.
The capital stock, $50,000, is divided into 500 shares. January 15,
1887, 50 per cent, of the capital stock was subscribed, and 20 per cent,
was paid in cash. A. L. Scott was made President, G. W. Jones
Secretary, and P. F. Clark Treasurer.
Birmingham Abstract Company. — Incorporated bj- H. F. DeBar-
deleben, W. P. Pinckard, and D. A. Green, all of Birmingham, Ala., on
October 28, 1886. The object is to furnish abstracts of titles.
The capital stock is $10,000.
Alabama Abstract Company. — Incorporated November 2, 1886, by
N. W. Trimble, Mobile, Ala.; E. N. Cullom and John H. Wallace, Bir-
ingham, Ala. The object is to prepare and furnish certificates and
abstracts of titles.
The capital stock is $25,000, divided into 250 shares.
Birmingham Construction Company. — Organized August 13, 1886,
by John W. Johnston, I. Y. Sage, W. J. Cameron, Joseph F. Johnston.
The capital stock is $50,000, divided into 500 shares.
The object is to construct railroads, tramroads, poleroads, turnpikes,
canals, and to build other structures, and to furnish stone, brick, iron,
and wood for the same ; to operate quarries, brickyards, factories, saw,
sash, and planing mills; to pave and improve streets and sidewalks, and to
furnish material for the same ; to deal in real estate necessary to the prose-
cution of tlieir business, and to do all other acts incident to a construction
company.
People's Homestead Building and Loan Association. — Incorpor-
ated October 2, 18S6, by M. J. IVIullane, Simon Blach, Louis Swarz, B.
F. Oldham, T. F. Thornton, H. McGeever, R. M. Hahn, M. Clifford,
August Schillinger, Mrs. L. H. Schmidt, all of Birmingham.
Capital stock, $1,500,000, of 7,500 shares, consisting of three series —
A, B, and C, and each series consisting of 2,500 shares.
The object is to accumulate a fund from monthly installments
on account of subscriptions to the capital stock, rentals, premiums, and
interest on loans; the fund so accummulated to be used for the purchase
Birniinghaiii. 277
and sale of real estate, the building, renting, and selling of homesteads,
and the loaning of funds upon mortgages on real estate in Jefferson
County, Ala.
Central Trust Company of Alabama. — Incorporated August 7,
1886, by H. M. Caldwell, John W. Johnston, Joseph F. Johnston, E. VV.
Rucker, T. B. Lyons, all of Birmingham, Ala.
The capital stock is $100,000, in 1,000 shares.
The objects of the company are the loaning of money on real estate
security ; the purchase of mortgages ; the purchase and sale of municipal
bonds, and other securities and evidences of indebtedness, and of such
real and personal property as may be desirable for its use, or necessary
for the collection or security of any debts or claims owing to the com-
pany, or in which it may have an interest ; the negotiation of loans ; the
acceptance and execution of such trusts as may be committed to it, and
the buying and selling on commission of real and personal property.
Co-operative Manufacturing and Building Company of Birming-
ham.— Incorporated in the fall of 1886, by J. J. Leteworth, Peter Gayler,
C. H. Bowling, M. A. Bird, VV. J. Marshall, all of Birmingham.
Capital stock, $10,000, divided into 2,000 shares.
General purpose is to carry on a manufacturing and industrial business.
Industrial Protective Association of Birmingham. — Incorporated
October 11, 1886, by WiUiam Wright, R. M. Hahn, S. White, Wilson
Mitchell, P. Kinney. The object is mutual assistance, and the accumu-
lation of a fund by dues, assessments, and contributions from its members,
from which benefits may be paid to its sick or disabled members, and upon
the death of a member, the benefit may follow to his family, or to those
dependent upon him, or such person as he may designate.
This association has power and authority to enjoy succession for
twenty years, and to do all such things as are usually granted corporations.
Birmingham Land and Loan Association. — Founded September
10, 1886. Officers: A. A. Clisby, President; John S. Jemison, Secretary
and Treasurer. Capital stock, $50,000.
This concern does a general loan business on real estate, and sells real
estate on commission. It sold, by one transaction, four thousand feet
on the Belt Railroad at the round sum of $100,000 in September,
1886. In two weeks time it sold for the purchasers the same property
for $160,000.
278 Jefferson County.
Birmingham Real Estate and Investment Company. — Organized
December 15, 1886, by B. F. Roden, W. H. Morris, J. F. B. Jackson,
W. D. McCurdy, J. H. Bankhead, J. W. Moore, to buy and sell real
estate, stocks, bonds, and to conduct an insurance and banking business,
to negotiate loans on real estate and other securities, and to purchase,
own, and dispose of personal property.
The capital stock, $100,000, is divided into 1,000 shares, with the
right to increase, as the business of the company may require. On
December 15 all the stock was taken, and 10 per cent, paid in cash.
The officers are W. D. McCurdy, President; J. H. Bankhead, Vice-
President; J. W. Moore, Secretary and Treasurer.
Birmingham Land and Loan Company. — Organized October 2, 1886.
Capital stock, $50,000.
Colored Mutual Investment Association of Birmingham, Ala.
Incorporated March 3, 1886. The principal place of business is Birming-
ham. The purpose is to buy and sell real estate, to build houses, and
establish homes.
The capital stock is $50,000, divided into 500 shares. On April 9
50 per cent, of the capital stock was subscribed, and 20 per cent, of the
amount subscribed paid in cash. A board of directors consists of W. S.
Robinson, T. S. Hazle, J. T. Peterson, J. H. Binford, T. W. Coffee,
William Robinson, Henry Hall, C. M. Hayward, and Jesse B. Claxton.
A sufficient number of the corporations and manufactories of Jef-
ferson County have been given to illustrate the general character of all.
Many remain unmentioned under the head of such institutions because
in view of their rapid increase they were not organized or not established
until after the enumeration given in these pages had been completed.
The history of some appears in the biographies of their founders. — The
Publishers.
MANUFACTORIES.
The Birmingham Gas and Illuminating Company. — Was incorpor-
ated in 1878 with a capital stock of $20,000, which has been increased to
$100,000. It is believed that, with judicious management, the coal near
the city is admirably suited to gas manufacture.
The stock of the company is quoted at $2. Thomas Jeffers is Super-
intendent of the company.
Birmingham. 279
Church's Machinery and Fine Tool Works. — The capital stock of
this establishment is ;^9,ooo only, but it is a profitable and highly useful
enterprise. It manufactures drill presses, planers, and fine machine tools.
It is the only establishment of the kind in the South. Markets are found
for the products of the works over the South, generally in the principal
cities and towns. Only skilled labor is employed, and wages are from $2
to $3 per day. Negroes are not found available for this kind of employ-
ment. Ten men are employed.
The most important order filled was for the Calera Charcoal Company
for brass pumps.
Railroads are disposed to make liberal concessions to the shippers of
these manufactured goods.
The erection of this establishment has already done much to divert
Birmingham trade, in the specialties turned out by it, from other points
to itself
The Southern Bridge Company. — Organized with a capital stock of
1125,000. Principal business is the manufacture of iron and combination iron
bridges. The market is chiefly confined to Alabama, and the patronage
is all the industry can supply.
The principal order thus far is for a bridge over the Coosa River at
VVetumpka.
As to labor, about three fourths employed are native Southern
whites. Negroes, as a class, will not become skilled laborers.
The railroads are exceedingly liberal in respect to freight charges.
The officers are W. J. Cameron, President; E. VV. Linn, Secretary
and Treasurer.
The Birmingham Agricultural Implement Works. — The capital
stock is ;^5o,ooo. The object is to manufacture implements for cotton
culture.
This important enterprise was set on foot by W. H. Mercer and D.
T. Marable. Dr. J. D. S. Davis is President.
W. H. Mercer invents many of the implements here manufactured.
A negro man, an employe, invented a double-foot plow which is manu-
factured and sold by these works. Wages here are ^i and $l per diem>
The inventor, Mr. Mercer, is a South Carolinan by birth.
The labor is all Southern born.
2 8o Jefferson County.
Birmingham Iron Works. — These works were founded by men of
.Alabama birth. John T. Hardie, now of New Orleans, is President, and
William Hardie, of Birmingham, is Secretary and Treasurer.
The capital is $50,000. The market is chiefly Jefferson County and
other parts of Alabama. Birmingham is now a good market, and is
increasing as such. The principal or larger single contracts filled are the
piping and pumps entire for the Talladega Water Works, and the one
hundred and fifty-horse-povver Corliss engine for the Wharton Flouring
Mills, of Birmingham.
The railroads are inclined to grant special terms to some points, but
not to all. Wages range from $\ to $5 per diem.
Wharton Flouring Mills. — Capital, $50,000, all owned in the city.
The products of the mills are flour, meal, and bran. The principal
market for the products is in the city.
All labor employed is Southern born. Negroes are not to be relied
on except for lower grades of employment. Wages are $\ to $3.50.
This concern does not ship much of its products.
It manufactures finest grades of flour from Tennessee wheat.
The mill company propose to erect at once an elevator adjoining their
mills.
This establishment was founded by W. G. Wharton. G. C. Ball is
the President ; J. M. Wharton is Secretary and Treasurer.
AvoNDALE Ice Factory. — W. R. Brown, President.
The Birmingham Ice Factory is one of the prominent industries,
managed with energy and keeping pace with the demand for its products.
Jefferson Pressed Brick Works. — The capacity of the works is
150,000 brick per day, mostly made by negroes, who, in this occupation,
receive $ I to $1.25 per day, and are satisfactory. The city and county
afford a fine and regular market.
The railroads are very encouraging to the business, reducing regular
rates when thought necessary.
Birmingham Bridge and Bolt Works. — Founded May, 1886, by
C. W. Wood & Co. Capital, January i, 1887, $50,000. Manufactures
wrought-iron and combination bridges, viaducts, trestle piers, girders,
roofs and structural iron works, bridge and machine bolts, rivets, screws,
etc. This is the pioneer company in this line in Birmingham.
Binningliani. 281
This work pays labor from 30 cents to 50 cents per hour. Only
Southern-born white labor in the higher grades is employed, and the works
make it an object to employ it as far as practicable.
The negro is used for common grades. The superintendent thinks
there can be no possible future employment for the negro as a skilled
laborer.
In respect to the difference between Northern labor and Southern
whites, the latter evince a natural aptitude to learn to take the part of
skilled labor but they do not possess "staying qualities" so far as dispo-
sition may be concerned. They work for good wages until they acquire a
round sum. They then spend it and work for more. Meantime they are
idle or half employed.
Business in this line is fairly patronized in the city, and this estab-
lishment has custom in various parts of the South. At this writing they
run all day and night to fill their orders.
The management thinks the railroads ought to be more liberal than
they are with their freight charges.
Smith Sons' Gin and Machine Company. — This establishment was
founded November, 1886. The capital stock is ^100,000. The incor-
porators are A. W. Smith, J. W. Sloss, Birmingham ; D. L. Smith, Gal-
veston, Texas ; E. Ensley, Memphis.
The character of the enterprise is the manufacture of machines and
implements, as well as gins ; also, wood work. The market is in the sev-
eral Southern States. Wages are from $\ to ^y^o per diem. Negroes
cannot be relied on for other than the lower grades.
"The railroads are liberal in their commissions to us, and never dis-
criminate against us."
Alabama Iron Works. — Founded January, 1886. Capital, $20,000.
The character of the business is the manufacture of the Van Pelt
DoubleActing Force Pump, wrought-iron work, frogs, switches, tram
■cars, miners' needles, iron fencing, drills, etc., consuming one and a half
tons of pig iron daily. The home market and the general markets of Ala-
bama and Mississippi patronize the establishment.
Wages run from $\ to $1 per diem. Work no negroes, because that
kind of labor cannot be relied on.
About one half of the white labor employed is native Southern.
Southern white labor shows a remarkable aptness for acquiring the
habits of skilled labor.
282 Jefferson Comity.
Terms with railroads depend upon the degree of competition they
offer for traffic among themselves.
Henry Behrens is President, Jacob Schmidt Superintendent, and W.
W. Barclay Secretary and Treasurer.
Southern Foundry and Manufacturing Company. — Founded
August, 1886, by William Veitch, George Veitch, Jacob Schmidt, and
W. Barclay. The articles manufactured are all kinds of hoUowware,
grate fronts, sash weights, frogs, crossings, and general foundry work.
General market is found in the Southern States. The home city
market and the Alabama market grow rapidly.
Wages run from $\ to $2.60 per diem.
Work no negro labor. Four-fifths of the white labor is Southern
born.
Baxter Stove Works. — This mammoth enterprise broke ground
July 30, 1886. In December following they were turning out one hun-
dred complete stoves per day, consisting of all styles of heating and cook-
ing. Their plant covers four acres of land. They employ three hundred
men, nearly all being white men. They own thirteen acres of land,
bought for the sole purpose of erecting thereon cottages for their
employes.
The capital stock is ^200,000. George C. Kelley, the President, is a
native of Wilmington, North Carolina, and formerly a large hardware mer-
chant of Birmingham. The other officers are W. H. Woolbridge, First Vice-
President; W. D. Hill, Second Vice-President; C W. Sisson, Secretary
and Treasurer.
The company is overrun with business, and doubled its large working
room in less than sixty days from the opening.
Brewer's Sash, Door, and Blind Manufactory. — This is a two-
story brick establishment located on First avenue, the property of a work-
ingman doing a large business, and is one of the most notable examples
of success gained from the bottom rung in the ladder of fortune to be
found in Birmingham. A boy, with the suit of clothes he wore as his
wardrobe and $10 cash capital, which he had gained by working at night,
set out into Montgomery County to become a builder and contractor. In
1871 he came to Birmingham, and worked in the building of the Relay
House. With his savings he put up a foot-power scroll saw, and began
to manufacture fancy scroll work. After a time he put up three additional
Birnmighain. 285
machines, to which he applied water power. Soon he bought the Tate
planing mill. The business capacity of the present establishment is about
$100,000 per annum, which is the largest in its line in Alabama. The
owner possesses property in Birmingham worth more than $100,000,
besides valuable timber lands in Jefferson County. His manufactory has
all the custom its capacity can supply.
AvoNDALE Ironworks. — Founded November i, 1886, by P. Bourne
and F. P. Fitzwilliams.
The nature of this enterprise is the manufacture of warehouse eleva-
tors, hoisting machinery, and architectural iron works.
Market is found in all parts of the South.
Wages paid are $1 to $2.50 per day. Keep only a few negroes for
common work. Do not consider them reliable for higher grades of
employment. About one-half of white labor employed is Southern
born, and the remainder Northern born.
The Birmingham market takes up four-fifths of the product of these
works, with tendency always upward in demand.
The railroads at Birmingham are very liberal, more so than at other
points in the experience of the same management. Indeed, the railroad
rates comprise a very material inducement to the location of the business
of the works at Birmingham.
Excelsior Foundry and Machine Shop. — Founded May, 1886, by
E. R. Jones. Capital, ^20,000. Output, fifty thousand pounds castings,
machinery, and wrought iron per diem. Market, as to foreign parts, in
Tennessee, South Carolina, and other Southern States.
About three-fourths of the labor employed are Southern born. The
management finds that, with training, negroes may learn to become skilled
labor. Wages run from $ I to $3 per day. Birmingham is the most liberal
customer, and the city custom increases.
A large order has been filled forthe Pioneer Manufacturing Company
of Jefferson County, another is being filled for the Sloss Furnace Com-
pany, and yet another for the Glen Mary Coal Company of Tennessee.
The railroads make liberal terms for the company, but sometimes
there is trouble in the transferring of cars from one railroad to another.
Avonuale Stove Works. — Present capital, $40,000. Founded
November, 1885, by Schoch, Wood & Co.
Business is the manufacture of hollowware, stoves, plumbers' sup-
plies, and light castings generally.
Icffcrson Lonnty.
Market in Birmingham. There is demand in \arious parts of the
South, but the local city market has consumed all the establishment can
turn out.
Common labor is paid ^i and skilled $2 per day.
Birmingham Chain Work..s. — Founded September, i88j, by B. F.
Roden and Oliver Weiser.
Present capital, ^§30,000. Manufactures chains. Principal markets
are in the South.
Labor is paid ninety cents for common and $4 for skilled. The man-
agement does not find negro labor available except as common labor.
About 25 per cent, is Southern-born white labor.
Railroads protect the manufacturers to a reasonable extent.
Birmingham Axe and Tool Company. — Incorporated December,
1886, with a capital of ;^I00,000. The incorporators are J. D. Moore. B.
F. Moore, W. A. Handley, and C. L. Jeffords. The site is a beautiful
one just beyond the city limits, lying on the Alabama Great Southern
Railroad.
Thompson Brick Company. — Organized December 27, 1886, by T.
C. Thompson, J. C. Kyle, J. B. Francis, and B. A. Thompson, to manu-
facture and sell brick ; to buy and sell real estate ; to build houses ; to
purchase and hold machinery and apparatus necessary for the prosecution
of the business.
The capital stock, $20,000, is divided into two hundred shares, with
the privilege of increasing to ^100,000.
At a meeting of the subscribers on January 3, 1887, more than 50
per cent, of the capital stock was subscribed. Directors elected were
T. C. Thompson, B. A. Thompson, J. C. Kyle, J. B. Francis, W. A.
Chenoweth, J. A. Kelly, and M. T. Richards. The officers are T. C.
Thompson, President ; J. C. Kyle, Vice-President ; H. L. Johnson, Sec-
retary; B. A. Thompson, Treasurer; J. A. Kelly, Superintendent.
AvoNDALE Lumber and Milling Company. — Organized January 22,
1887, by W. C. Dean, J. J. Edmonson, both of St. Clair County, Ala.,
and H. F. Trammell, R. W. Trammell, and Peyton G. King. The prin-
cipal place of business is at Avondale, Ala. The purpose is to buy, sell,
and deliver lumber ; to manufacture any and all wooden goods, imple-
ments and machinery, lumber, doors, sash, blinds, stairways, office and
Birmingha7n. 2<S7
store fixtures, coffins, building materials, and all other things commonly
used and manufactured out of wood ; to build houses of wood, brick, or
iron ; to buy, sell, own, and deal generally in real and personal property
necessary to the successful prosecution of their business.
The capital stock is $30,000, at the par value of $100 per share. More
than 20 per cent, of the capital stock has been paid into the hands of
the secretary and treasurer.
Al.akama Gas, Fuel, and Manufacturing Company. — Incorporated
November 30, 1886, by Robert P. Duncan and Robert Jemison, both of
Birmingham. Its principal business is the manufacture and sale of the
Biddison heater, or burner, and the sale of State and county rights.
Capital stock, $30,000, divided into 300 shares.
Birmingham Soap Works. — Incorporated September 15, 1886, by W.
R. Rosser, T. C. Simpson, C. H. Francis, D. Drennen, J. T. Wilson, all
of Birmingham, Ala. Capital stock, $50,000, with the privilege to increase
at pleasure. There are 1,000 shares of $50 each.
The object is to manufacture soaps of various kinds, and to soil the
same, and to purchase sufficient real estate for carrying on their business,
and to own and hold personal property to any amount.
The officers elected for one year are D. M. Drennen, President ; W.
N. Malone, Vice-President ; C. H. Francis, Secretary and Treasurer.
Birmingham Land, Tanning .\nd Manufacturing Companv. — Incor-
porated December 30, 1886. The general purpose is the tanning of hides,
skins, and finishing and dressing of leather, and the manufacture of the
same into the various articles for which leather is used. The capital stock
is $250,000, of 2,500 shares.
The officers are Robert D. Smith, President ; Joseph B. West, Vice-
President ; James Hays, Secretary and Treasurer.
Sixty per cent, of the capital stock has been paid into the hands of
the treasurer.
Alabama W.\gon and Carri.age Company. — Incorporated January
13, 1887, by C. B. Powell, Helena, Ark.; C. B. Gordon, Racine, Wis.;
J. A. Powell, luka. Miss. The purpose is to manufacture wagons, bug-
gies, carriages, and other vehicles.
The capital is Sioo,ooo, of 1,000 shares, to be increased at option.
2 88 Jeff CI- son County.
Birmingham Axe and Tool Company. — Incorporated December 8,
1886. The business is to manufacture axes, hatchets, picks, hammers,
bolts, tools, wedges, crowbars, etc.
The officers are J. D. Moore, President ; VV. A. Handley, Vice-Pres-
ident ; B. F. Moore, Secretary ; C. L. Jeffords, Manager.
The capital stock is ^100,000, divided into 1,000 shares. The stock
was all taken on December 10.
Twenty per cent, of the capital stock was then paid into the hands of
the treasurer.
Birmingham Machine and Foundry Company. — Incorporated Jan-
uary 14, 1887. It is the purpose of the company to manufacture
machinery, tools, implements, all kinds of railroad supplies, and furnace
work, that can be made of wood, wrought or cast iron, or other metals,
or of wood and other metals.
The capital stock is ;^ioo,000, divided into 1,000 shares.
The Birmingham Brewery. — In 1884 Mr. Philip Schillinger, a suc-
cessful brewer, of Louisville, Ky., one of the organizers of the Phoenix
Brewing Company, of that city, among the most noted in the South,
came to Birmingham to investigate the prospect for a similar enterprise in
the city. Possessing many of the superior characteristics of the steady
German race, he was quick to perceive the many advantages offered, chief
among them the central location and clear field. He was quick to decide
upon his plans. In the same year he established the Birmingham Brew-
ery, the only one in the State.
The buildings erected by him, between Avenues Eand F and Twenty-
first and Twenty-second streets, were thought to be ample for years in
the future. But the remarkable growth of the city, and the popularity
of his product, made it imperative that his works should be enlarged.
In the fall of 1 886 he erected an additional 35x70 feet, which increases
his storage capacity threefold.
Mr. Schillinger began business with all of the improved machinery
necessary, including two Arctic refrigerators. By means of this machinery
the cellars and storage vaults can be kept at any degree of temperature
from freezing to more intense cold. He has added new machinery, and
enlarged from time to time, until this establishment presents a model of
its kind.
Mr. Schillinger's trade has steadily increased. The first year's sales
were about 8,ooo barrels, and for 1886 about 10,000 barrels, which is
Birmingham. 289
chiefly sold in this city, where he has practically the entire trade. With
his present facilities and a storage capacity of 6,000 barrels, he intends
to extend his trade as well as the reputation of his product.
Mr. Schillinger is ably assisted in the management and control of his
business by his three sons. August has charge of the city trade ; Louis
is superintendent, and is a practical brewer, having learned his trade at one
of the largest breweries in Cincinnati, the Moerlein Brewing Compan}' ;
and Erwin, who superintends the bottling department.
Notwithstanding their recent enlargements and improvements, they
propose to incorporate, in May, 1887, the Schillinger Brewing Company,
with a capital stock of $100,000, with the following as incorporators and
officers : Philip Schillinger, President ; August Schillinger, Treasurer ;
Louis Schillinger, Superintendent and Manager, and Erwin Schillinger
Secretary.
They will increase their facilities from time to time, and have already
ordered two new boilers and another refrigerator from Cleveland, Ohio,
to be delivered in the fall of 1887.
Cigar Manufactories. — There are three cigar manufactories in Bir-
mingham.
H. J. McCafferty, established 1884, employs five men.
B. F. Oldham, established January, 1886, with five men.
Seig & Surman, established March, 1887.
Birmingham Silk Culture and Silk Manufacturing Company. —
Organized in the autumn of 1886, with ;?5,ooo capital.
W. A. Handley is President; C. C. Brennan, Secretary; William
Berney, Treasurer, all of Birmingham.
Birmingham Machine and Foundry Company. — In 1881 R. W.
Boland came to Birmingham and began, on a small scale, to manufacture
frogs, switches, etc., for railroads. The business advanced rapidly. He
moved from his small shop, on First avenue and Fourteenth street, to the
new and large shops built by himself on First avenue and Twenty-ninth
street, near the Sloss furnaces, placed there new and improved machinery,
and organized a company with $100,000 capital, of which he became Presi-
dent, to operate his works.
Edison Electric Illuminating Company. — Incorporated Novem-
ber, 1886. Capital stock, $75,000. The incorporators are William Shaw
and Leigh Carroll, of Birmingham.
290 Jeffei'so^i Co2inty.
Kreble E^ngine Manufacturing Company.— Incorporated in the fall
of 1886. The object of this corporation is to manufacture an improved
engine, invented by Kreble, of Birmingham, Ala.
The capital stock is $25,000.
Birmingham Iron Bridge and Forge Company. — Incorporated
November, 1886. Capital stock, $250,000.
J. D. Moore, Robert Jemison, A. P. Sims, Nashville; W. H. Sellers,
Ohio; H. T. Welty, Cleveland, Ohio; C. D. Reamer, Oberlin, Ohio, and
Thomas Hearney, New York, are the incorporators.
The directors elected are H. M. Caldwell, President; H. G. Welty,
Vice-President; C. E. Kingseed, Secretary and Treasurer.
Birmingham Furn.a,ce and Manufacturing Company. — Incorporated
December, 1886. Capital stock, $1,500,000.
The incorporators are Robert D. Smith and Elwell Eastman, of Bir-
mingham, Ala.; Jasper M. Thompson, Robert Hogsett, Fuller Hogsett,
Frank Ewing, of Uniontown, Pa.
This corporation has begun the erection of two furnaces on the Ala-
bama Great Southern Road at Irondale, seven miles north-east of Bir-
mingham. They own several thousand acres of coal and iron-ore land in
the vicinity.
Red Mountain Mining and Manufacturing Company. — Incor-
porated November, 1886. Capital stock, $300,000, all paid up.
The incorporators are John T. Milner and George McLaughlin. The
object is to build a furnace.
Birmingham Steam Laundry. — R. W. A. Wilda established the
Birmingham Steam Laundry on Avenue C, South Side, in November,
1883. It employs twelve hands, and has several thousand dollars worth
of latest improved machinery.
Enterprise Manufacturing Company. — Manufacturers of all kinds
of woodwork. Incorporated November, 1886. Capital stock, $100,000.
Stockholders are J. F. B. Jackson, W. H. Morris, W. A. Smith, T. C.
Thompson, B. F. Roden, W. J. Cameron, William A. Walker, Jr., J. P.
Mudd, Samuel L. Truss, and M. Gilbreath, of Columbia, South Carolina.
J. F. B. Jackson, President. The Directors are Messrs. Morris, Walker,
Cameron, Smith, Roden, and Thompson. Works located on Third ave-
nue and Eighth street.
Birmingham. 291
Caldwell Printing Works. — In a 9x12 oval vase in the business
office of the above firm is a 2 x 3 J^ inch " Gelding Official " press, which,
ten years ago, by C. H. Caldwell, then a boy of 13, son of Mr. H. M.
Caldwell, was the beginning of the present large and well-equipped estab-
lishment known far and near as the Caldwell Printing Works. The firm
is now composed of Messrs. C. H. Caldwell and T. W. Carpenter, the
latter of Richmond, Va. , who became a partner one year ago — both young
men of fine business sagacity and energy.
The large three-story brick building on Morris avenue is too small for
their growing business, and another story is soon to be added.
The work — book and job printing, from a leaflet to a book of a thou-
sand pages, and from a small label to a many-sheet poster, and blank-book
making and binding of the finest description — turned out by this house,
has gained for it, and Birmingham also, an enviable notoriety in this line
of business.
Their material is all of the very best makes, combining the latest
modern improvements — their ten presses, three cylinders, one Universal,
and six improved Gordons, a 28-horse-power Ball engine, wood and metal
type of the newest faces, their stereotyping apparatus, and the bindery
filled with all the latest appliances known to the trade, their stockroom a
veritable paper warehouse, all attest the rare tact and business qualifica-
tions of these young men in seeing and providing for the present and
future needs of the Magic City. A more honorable example than this
cannot be found for illustrating the enterprise of young men of family
wealth who have determined to make fortunes on their own resources in
the channel of hard work.
The Printing Department is presided over by Mr. J. D. McClintock,
and the Bindery by Mr. Charles R. Patterson.
Mineral Water Manufacturers. — There are two manufactories of
carbonated water in this city, both supplied with the latest improved
machinery.
Davis & Herbert estabhshed the first in order in 1884, on Avenue G
and Eighteenth street. Their successors are Davis & Worcester, on
Avenue C and Twenty-second street. They are young men of enterprise
and tact.
A. F. Hochstadter established a similar business in 1885 on Third
avenue, between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets. He has entered
upon a very successful trade, based on the quality of his goods.
17
292 Jefferson Coimty.
WHOLESALE HOUSES.
Groceries. — The wholesale business was initiated in Birmingham by
James A. Allen & Co. m 1876, in the grocery line. The firm consisted
of James A. Allen, John C. Henley, and W. L. Scott. The volume of
business for several successive years was about $100,000. In 1880 it had
increased to $150,000. In 1883 the firm became Allen, Scott & Sherrod.
In 1885 F. O. Sherrod retired to open in the same line on his own
account. The firm of Allen, Scott & Co. now occupy a large three-story
house, built and owned by themselves. James A. Allen has retired from
active business, but retains an interest in the capital of the firm. His son
is now one of the partners, and the business is in a very prosperous condi-
tion.
F. O. Sherrod was prostrated by disease soon after opening a
hopeful and successful business in the wholesale grocery line. After a
year's attempt to conduct it, from a sick bed, he sold out.
T. L. Hudgins established a wholesale grocery business in 1877, and
in 1878 sold it to J. M. Maxwell & Co.
J. M. Maxwell and J. A. Van Hoose, both of Tuscaloosa, opened
trade in the fall of 1878. In twelve months they had done a volume of
business of $200,000.
In 1 88 1 the firm of Maxwell & Co. was succeeded by McLester &
Van Hoose. The business of this pioneer concern so increased that in
1885 they moved into a large brick storehouse by the railroad track,
bordering Morris avenue, and their progress has been steady aad uninter-
rupted.
In 1882 the house of Wimberly, Malone & Co. opened trade.
In 1885 C. S. Simmons established himself. The same year Clisby,
Wigginton & Co. entered the business, and in 1886 sold out to E. C.
Mackey, who does a large and increasing business.
In 1886 Wimberly, Malone & Co. became Adler, Malone & Co.
The wholesale grocery trade of 1886 of the city of Birmingham
reached §3,000,000, with a steady tendency to advance.
The brokerage business in the grocery trade is active.
Hardivare. — The wholesale hardware trade of Birmingham is very
prosperous, and rapidly increasing.
Thompson, Francis & Chenowith do about $150,000 per year, and in
the winter of 1886-87 their business was increased fully 40 per cent.
Birynmghmn. 293
Moore, Moore & Handley are probably the largest house. They
have done a business averaging $1,000 per day for much of the winter
season of 18S6-87.
The Towers Hardware Company, successors to George C. Kelley,
does a volume of business of about 5150,000 per year.
Chenowith, Estes & Horan do about $75,000 per year in stoves, tin-
ware, etc.
The Ullman Hardware Company does about $60,000 per year, with
steady increase.
H. T. Beggs & Sons, established 1871. They make stoves, archi-
tectural iron-work, mining machinery, and general foundry and machine
work. Their capital stock is $100,000. They employ thirty to sixty
men, an average, perhaps, of thirty. Their best market is Birmingham,
and this patronizes them liberally. They ship also to New Orleans,
various points in Florida, Mississippi, and the country nearer Birmingham,
and throughout other portions of Alabama. Wages run from $2.50 to $3
per day. Negroes cannot be worked at all in the skilled work of this
establishment.
The Baxter Stove Works manufacture and sell one hundred stoves
per diem, and will increase their business.
Wholesale Miscellanies. — The wholesale fruit business is rapidly
advancing, as is the wholesale clothing business. The increasing well-
paid wage class in the city and in the extended and extending provincial
towns create a demand.
In the wholesale fruit and produce line are Higdon & McCary, W. C.
Hill, and S. W. Emmons. All are successful and enlarging their trade.
James B. Hopkins & Co., wholesale tin, opened June i, 1886. Their
trade from that time up to January i, 1887, was $30,000. Seventy-five
per cent, of their business is wholesale.
The Wallis-Duggan Tobacco Company. — This company was estab-
lished 1886. Business per year is $50,000. They carry all kinds of
tobaccos and cigars. Their business is increasing rapidly.
Harralson Bros. & Co. , tobacco, cigars, snuff, and pipes. Established
in Birmingham in September, 1886. Trade has been successful.
E. Oppenheimer & Co. opened November 10, 1886. Percentage of
increase, 100. They carry tobacco, cigars, liquors, and wines. This is a
branch house of the well-known firm, L. Oppenheimer & Sons, distillers,
of Louisville.
294 Jefferson County.
H. W. Perry & Co. opened business October i, 1883, on Twentieth
street, between First and Morris avenues. They are wholesale dealers in
tobacco and cigars. Volume of trade, $150,000. The rate of increase so
far has been about 50 per cent, per year.
Milner & Kettig. — The importance of manufacturing enterprises to the
natural growth and prosperity of great cities is apparent to all observers
of commercial progress. Situated in the heart of boundless fields of coal
and iron, Birmingham seems destined to be one of the greatest manufac-
turing centers of the country. But manufacturing, to be carried on
successfully, must have a base of supplies, as a near depository of these is
of the most vital importance.
In looking over the list of enterprises in Birmingham, we feel that we
may well mention here some of the typical merchants who are rapidly
marshaling the city into one of the greatest trade markets of the South.
By indomitable energy and superior business sagacity, the firm of Milner
& Kettig has succeeded in building up the largest manufacturers' and
miners' supply business in the South. The manufacturers of Birmingham
and of the South need no longer look toward the North and East for their
supplies, but can find at home as large a stock of machinery, mill and
mining supplies, pumps, pipe, and fittings as are contained under one roof
south of Cincinnati. Everything needed by the mining operator to
develop and open his mines can be found here at prices that defy competi-
tion. It is here, also, that the furnaces, mills, factories, etc., can find all
the supplies necessary to carry on their business. The firm is also largely
engaged in the plumbing, steam, and gas-fitting business, employing the
best talent obtainable for this special department, and doing all this work
on a scientific plan, using the best sanitary appliances. The people of
Birmingham have not been slow in attesting their appreciation, which can
be seen by the immense amount of work and contracts this firm have con-
stantly on hand. To keep their customers posted on the ever-increasing
variety and volume of their business, the firm has just published and
issued, at much expense, a neatly-bound and excellently-arranged book,
showing all the goods they handle, illustrated for the convenience of their
customers. This is the first illustrated catalogue issued by a Southern
house. They also send out a monthly price list.
Having the interest of the city at heart this house has several times
been instrumental in starting younger manufacturers into business by
giving them substantial aid. Their trade extends from Tennessee to the
Gulf, and from the Carolinas far into the West. This house is not a
vendor only. It has lately established the Milner & Kettig Iron and
Birmiftgham. 295
Brass Manufacturing Company, which promises to become one of the
leading industries of the South. Mr. Kettig is Secretary and Treasurer
of the company.
Harris Bros., wholesale paints, oils, glassware, paper, moldings, etc.,
opened April 9, 188 1. Situated on Twenty-first street, between First and
Second avenues. Volume of trade for 1886 was ^30,000, is increasing
rapidly, and will more than double in 1887.
Nabers & Morrow commenced the wholesale drug business in March,
1885. The business has grown very rapidly. The volume of trade for
1886 was ;g 1 20,000.
Shaw & Davin, wholesale engines, boilers, pumps, cotton presses,
cotton gins, saw mills, corn mills, pulleys, shafting, hangers, journal
boxes, brass goods, belting, pipe and fittings, machinists' and railway
supplies, opened business May i, 1886. Business has been very satisfac-
tory. From that time in 1886 to January i, 1887, the volume of trade
amounted to $90,000. The percentage of increase over the first month's
business is about 75. The fact of being situated on Morris avenue, and
immediately on the railroad, has facilitated business in no small degree,
and has greatly increased their sales, on account of quick delivery, having
a most favorable position.
The wholesale trade of Birmingham increases rapidly as transporta-
tion lines reach out from the city farther into the country, and as new
industries rise in the suburbs. It will increase lOO per cent, in 1887.
Retail dealers often have a wholesale department connected with their
business.
The Birmingham Cotton and Produce Exchange is a branch of the
City Cotton and Produce Exchange of Atlanta, Ga. Mr. S. H. Phelan,
of Atlanta, who is a member of the New York Cotton Exchange, and of
the Chicago Board of Trade, is proprietor of both Exchanges, but the
former is under the personal management of Captain John Phelan.
The Birmingham office was opened January i, 1886, and for the first
year had a most gratifying and successful career. This is alike an indorse-
ment of its management by citizens of Birmingham, and a credit to the
business activity of the city. There are few institutions of any kind which
for the first year can show up so well.
The advantage of such an ofifice to the merchants of the city cannot
well be estimated. It affords the quickest and most reliable means to the
merchant of keeping accurately up with the tone of the market in other
important centers. They have not been slow to avail themselves of this
privilege, and many of them have profited by it.
296 Jefferso7i County.
To those who are investors from day to day this office holds out the
most complete means of knowing when and how to invest. There are
neatly arranged blackboards, upon which are given every few minutes the
quotations, so that no one can complain of imperfect facilities.
The rooms in which the business is conducted are arranged with
special reference to the needs of those desiring to transact business there.
They are handsome, well-appointed and equipped in every sense to meet
all demands that may be made.
The officers connected with the Exchange are polite and affable, and
ready at all times to extend every aid to those who wish to try fortune,
either in the stock, grain, cotton, or meat markets.
Judging the coming year by the past, one cannot but suppose that
1887 will be the most successful part of its career.
CITY TRANSPORTATION.
The rapid and extensive growth of the street railways of Birmingham
is one of the remarkable incidents of its career. The city has already as
many lines of this description of public carriage as would be considered
liberal in one of one hundred thousand inhabitants. The explanation can
only be found in the prosperity of the working people and general class
of employes who are able to pay five-cent fares.
The Birmingham Street Railway Company. — Was incorporated in
1879 with a capital stock of $40,000. They now have five miles of track
in daily use, and are preparing to increase the track laying. This company
originally obtained from the city a monopoly of street-railway privileges
on a large number of streets. After some years a new company, the
"Birmingham and Pratt Mines," came forward with a petition to the city
to grant it right of way along some of the streets heretofore exclusively
allowed to the Birmingham Railway Company. The city administration
reconsidered its action and allowed the new concern the same privileges
with the other. This course brought about tedious litigation, which was
finally dismissed by the decree of the State Supreme Court, which sustained
the action of the city in rescinding the monopoly originally granted to the
first company. The streets had been given by the Elyton Land Company
in perpetual trust to the city for the benefit of the public. The city gov-
ernment had no rights over them except police rights. If two or more
Birmiyighani. 299
lines of railway might be laid without detriment to the public good on
any one or more streets, then the city government could not grant a
monopoly to one line.
The fare on the Birmingham Street Railway Company's lines is five
cents.
The stock of the company is quoted at $2.
The first president of the company was B. F. Roden, a large grocery
merchant and investor in the city. The present president is W. H. Mor-
ris, who came to the city a young man, became mayor, and has made a
fortune on his energies and good judgment only.
The Birmingham Street Railway Company was the pioneer in this
line, and began to run its first cars from the western end of First avenue
to Avondale, a distance of about three miles, in the spring of 1885.
After this line had greatly extended its tracks in different parts of the city,
and after the Birmingham and Pratt Mines street railway had built and put
in operation about seven miles of track, the two companies united under
one management, of which J. A. Van Hoose is President.
HighlaJid Avenue Dummy Line Railway. — The original purpose of the
projector, the Elyton Land Company, was to build a drive for vehicles
along the base of the southern range of mountains confining the city.
This purpose matured into the railway as an inevitable sequence of
the good judgment of President Caldwell in originating the plan for
the drive.
The line skirts the base of the mountains, meandering along the val-
ley the whole length. Reaching Lakeview Park, it runs on a shorter
route across the valley into the heart of the city, terminating at the Opera
House, corner of First avenue and Nineteenth street.
There was a protracted contest, before the courts, by the projection of
this road, with the Birmingham Street Railway Company, involving
right of way over ground in the city claimed by the latter. This question
being settled, to the satisfaction of all concerned, the completion of the
Highland Avenue road was pushed forward with rapidity.
There are four motors on the line running constantly, yet the tra\'el is
even greater than these can well accommodate. It far exceeds the expec-
tations of the company owning the property. The rails are steel, coke is
used for fuel, and entire immunity from accident to life or limb has, thus
far, prevailed in the operation of it.
The object of this road was to open to settlement some fifteen hun-
dred acres of land owned along its route by the Elyton Land Company.
300 fefferson Coiuity.
In this it has been exceedingly successful. Many beautiful residences
crown the elevations along the line from first to last.
Belt Railroad. — The object of this line is to distribute heavy freights,
by the car load, brought into the city by the various trunk lines of road,
and from the home manufactories to these roads. Warehouses and ele-
vators are expected to be built at convenient places along the line, as a
part of the benefit it will confer. The length of the main line is twelve
miles, but radii in various directions will run out to accommodate public
demand. The average cost per mile, single track, will be about ;$io,ooo,
but much of the bed will carry double track.
All of the leading iivdustries will be connected, by its I'adii, with each
other, and with the trunk lines. Its value to the growth of the town
must be incalculable.
Passenger cars, drawn by dummy engines, will be run over the line.
The Belt road is the property of the Elyton Land Company. It is
expected to incorporate the two lines of railroad belonging to this great
corporation, the Belt and the Highland Avenue, into one concern and give
it separate management.
Birtningham & Jones Valley Railroad. — Suburban street railroad
extension is opening up to settlement a wide territory adjacent to the city
of Birmingham. The line we here describe is eight miles long, pene-
trating a region of unsurpassed healthfulness, with abundance of the
purest water and shade.
The capital stock is ^60,000. The incorporators are John T. Hefflin,
Samuel Green, C. C. Brenneman, Robert Warnock, Birmingham ; T. G.
Bush, Mobile ; P. Resing, Lancaster, Ohio.
The line begins in the center of the city and runs to Ensley City.
Ultimately it will proceed to Bessemer. Steam motors will be used.
East Lake Djintniy Line. — This line was organized as a stock company
June, 1886. It is intended to promote the interest of the East Lake Land
Company by connecting their property with the heart of the city. The
direct line is eight miles long. All of the most modern approved
appliances will be used to operate this line. It will be built of steel rails,
and will be heavy enough to carry loaded freight cars.
Western Valley Street Railroad. — Capital stock is ^50,000. The
object of this line is to connect the property of the North Birmingham
Land Company with the center of the city. It will be four miles long.
Birmingha7!i. 301
East Biniiingkam Duniniy Line. — This line will connect the center of
the city with East Birmingham, and the track is now being laid.
Demcre Transfer Company. — Incorporated October, 1886. Capital
stock is $15,000. Incorporators are William Berney, B. F. Moore, F. L.
Demere, A. J. Camp, Walter Moore, and W. M. Bethea, all of Birming-
ham.
Other transportation lines to use steam motors have been incorpora-
ted and will be built in 1887.
SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS.
Knights of Pythias, Jefferson Valley Lodge, No. 11. — This lodge was
organized April, 1874, with eleven members. It now carries one hundred
and eighteen on its rolls. Its standing, financially and in other respects,
has always been first-class. Every duty of the order has been met faith-
fully, and all legitimate claims have been promptly paid. The benevolent
feature of the organization has been prominent. It maintains an insur-
ance department, and the policies range from $1,000 to $3,000. In the
five years of the operation of this department about $15,000 have been
paid by it. The taking out of a policy is entirely optional with members.
"Sick benefits," which include accidents, of all kinds, to persons, area
common enjoyment with all members in good standing. Sick benefits are
paid direct from the treasury of the local lodge, but the insurance policies
are paid from the treasury of the Supreme Lodge of the World. These
pass through the Indianapolis office.
Cyrene Coinuiandety, No. lO, Knights Templar. — Organized March 14,
1874, opened April 28 following, for dispatch of business.
The dispensation issued from the Commandery of the State of Ala-
bama in conclave at Montgomery.
The commandery is now prosperous and steadily increasing its mem-
bership.
The companions in attendance at the organization were Sir Knights
J. B. Luckie, E. C; James M. Ware, Generalissimo; Thomas Jeffers,
Captain General; F. P. O'Brien, Yx^idX^ pro tern.; George M. McLaugh-
lin, Senior Warden; W. L. Gude, Junior Warden /w /?;«.; Stephen W.
Dupuy, Treasurer pro tern.; Julius L. Lockwood, Recorder pro tetn.
The present officers of the commandery are Charles Wheelock,
Eminent Commander ; Silas Hine, Generalissimo ; H. J. Falls, Captain
302 Jefferson County.
General; Thomas Jeffers, Treasurer; George McLaughlin, Senior Warden ;
William A. Jones, Recorder; George T. Alexander, Sword Bearer; R.
M. Cunningham, Standard Bearer ; Eli Mullens, Captain of the Guard.
The Eminent Commanders have been in order as follows : Sir Knight
J. B. Luckie, W. L. Gude, F. L. Wadsworth, J. L. Lockwood, and the
present incumbent, Charles Wheelock.
Binmngham Fraternal Lodge, No. 384, Free ajid Accepted Masons. —
Established December, 1871, by Charter Members Henry Horton, A.
Marre, John A. Milner, and Julius L. Lockwood. Organized with seven
members. Present membership is one hundred and sixty, and the lodge
is hopeful and flourishing. It is, perhaps, doing more work than any
other lodge in the State.
Henry Horton was the first Master, and Dr. George M. Morrow is
now Master, in his fourth year.
December, 1885, Dr. Morrow was appointed Grand Junior Deacon
of the State Lodge, and in December, 1886, was elected Junior Grand
Warden of the same.
The following are the present officers of the lodge : James McDon-
ald, Senior Warden ; George S. Moore, Junior Warden; William Hood,
Treasurer ; James M. Peteet, Secretary ; William Jones, Senior Deacon ;
Eli Mullins, Tyler.
Mr. Mullins has been Tyler since the organization of this lodge, and
is also Tyler for all the lodges.
Binmngham Encampt?ient, No. 21, /. 0. 0. F. — E. Erswell, District
Deputy Grand Patriarch. Officers : W. H. Herrick, Chief Patriarch ; E.
Erswell, High Priest ; L R. Hochstadter, Senior Warden ; G. R. Ward,
Scribe; B. Wellman, Treasurer ; M. Murphy, Junior Warden. Member-
ship seventeen, and prosperous, holding city and county bonds.
Mineral City Lodge, No. 74. — Organized November 8, 1872, by Dis-
trict Deputy Grand Master E. P. Jones.
Charter members : C. F. Enslen, F. A. Duval, B. F. Williams, D.
A. Johnston, and Jacob Faber.
Meetings are held weekly, in rooms over First National Bank. Present
officers are : W. A. Turner, Noble Grand ; B. L. Hibbard, Vice Grand ;
G. R. Ward, Secretary ; E. Erswell, Treasurer.
Membership is sixty-eight, and the lodge is in a highly prosperous
condition.
Bii'minghani. 303-.
Finance Committee : C. P. Williamson, W. T. Underwood, and G.
R. Ward.
Knights of Honor, Golden Rule Lodge, No. 963. — Organized March 19,
1878, and reorganized in 1880. This organization is in a highly prosper-
ous condition. The order numbers seventy-three. Only three members
have been lost since organization, and these by death, viz: W. L. Scott,
F. L. Wadsworth, and J. F. Smith.
The work of this organization in charities has been active. Each
member is required to carry an insurance on his life for the specific sum-
of $2,QOO. There are also "sick benefits" for the common benefit of
members who suffer from accidents.
The present officers are : W. H. Herrick, Dictator; George R. Ward,
Vice Dictator; S. D. Cole, Assistant Dictator ; J. B. Simpson, Reporter;
J. B. Alford, Financial Reporter; George T. Hill, Treasurer; Harry
Atkins, Guide; T. H. Holt, Chaplain; D. R. Dunlap, Guardian; G. W.
Morefield, Sentinel.
This lodge was organized with twelve members only, viz: J. L.
Lockwood, James M. Ware, James E. Hawkins, J. P. Buggett, R. S.
Montgomery, F. P. O'Brien, Frank Wadsworth, John Creel, J. B. Luckie,
Ellis Phelan, Joseph R. Smith, Jr., and George W. Allen.
Evening Star Lodge, No. i lOO, Knights and Ladies of Honor. — This has
been a very prosperous lodge. It was organized by Mrs. Sally A. Daw-
son, starting with fifty members, in 1885. Mrs. Dawson was soon taken
ill and never returned to her place. Harry E. English was made Secre-
tary, and O. C. Frazer Protector.
In a few months from the date of organization the members admitted,
and ready for admittance, justified an additional lodge. Mr. English, the
Secretary, therefore, withdrew to organize the Iron City Lodge, No. 1146,
in April, 1886. He became Secretary of the new lodge, and F. M. Irion-
Protector. Mr. William Workman took his resigned position.
The combined membership is three hundred and fifty. The death
claims paid aggregated $7,000 in the first eighteen months of the life of the
two lodges.
Each lodge has a room of its own, and there is a weekly meeting of
each.
United Charities. — This organization is non-sectarian. A meeting of
citizens was called in January, 1884, at the First Methodist Episcopal
304 Jefferson Coimty.
Church, South. The attendance was large, and the work of the society
began at once.
Mrs. J. F. Smith was elected President; Mrs. A. O. Lane, Vice-
President, and John G. Smith, Secretary. At the next election of officers
Mrs. John C. Morrow was made President; the other officers remaining
the same except that Mrs. R. H. Sterrett was added.
A reorganization was effected in January, 1886. Mrs. W. J. Pierce
was elected President; Mrs. J. C. Henley, Vice-President; Mrs. Samuel
J. UUman, Second Vice-President; Mrs. L. L. Scott, Secretary, and Mr.
John G. Smith, Treasurer. There was a board of directors which was com-
posed as follows : Mrs. W. T. Underwood, Protestant Episcopal ; Mrs.
J. C. Dozier, Methodist ; Mrs. William Berney, Presbyterian ; Mrs. J. R.
Hochstadter, Jewish Congregation ; Mrs. Charles Whelan, Roman Catho-
lic; Mrs. J. P. Tillman, Christian Church; Mrs. VV. C. Denson, Cumber-
land Presbyterian ; Mrs. John W. Johnston, Baptist.
In October following, a reelection of officers was ordered. Mrs. Pierce,
the President, was reelected but declined to serve. Mrs. L. L. Scott,
thereupon became her successor. Mrs. T. O. Smith was elected Secre-
tary. The other officers were retained.
This most efficient and timely organization is entirely the work of the
ladies of Birmingham. Their ultimate object was the erection of a
charity hospital. Meanwhile they have been active in the administration
of practical relief to the needy. Thus far Birmingham has been remark-
ably exempt from suffering poor.
The scheme for the erection of the hospital has taken shape. A
board of incorporators has taken the subject up, and some of the most
prosperous business men comprise it. Robert Jemison, William Berney,
E. W. Linn, John G. Smith, Samuel J. Ullman, J. T. Nixon, R. W.
Boland, and Dr. Bryce Hughes, are their names. In connection with the
efforts of these gentlemen there is a board of control composed of the
following ladies: Mesdames W. T. Underwood, W. J. Pierce, I. Y. Sage,
J. C. Henley, L. L. Scott, Samuel J. Ullman, C. E. Slade, T. D. Smith,
and J. W. Johnston. The subscriptions now assure its completion.
Young Men s Christian Association. — In August, 1884, five young men
of Birmingham met together, in the bedroom of one of their number, and
agreed to form a Young Men's Christian Association, and set to work to
secure members. In a few weeks the organization was perfected by the
election of the following Board of Managers: F. S. Wilson, G. W. Nor-
wood, Win. T. Wilson, L. M. Barclift, Charles A. Merrill, J. H. Mohns,
Birmingham. 305
W. W. Barclay, J. H. Lee, S. B. Johnston, Sinclair Bennie, F. P. Fos-
ter, W. K. Simpson, and C. C. Steward.
The association first occupied a room at No. 19O9 Second avenue,
jointly with the Christian Church, which had just organized. Soon they
increased the number of their meetings and fitted up a reading room.
Their efforts met with encouragement from the best citizens, and a work
for young men, by young men, was successfully inaugurated. Beside
holding meetings in their own rooms, the young men initiated services at
the city and county jails on Sundays, which still continue an interesting
feature of their work.
On the first of November, 1885, they rented four rooms in Roden's
Block, two of which were converted into a beautiful little hall and another
into a reading room, and an effort made to provide all that is called for by
a Young Men's Christian Association, moral instruction, intellectual cul-
ture, social amusement, physical development, and spiritual welfare.
These rooms continue the attractive resort of young men, and are
open to all from 8 a. m. to 10 p. m. Charles A. Merrill was the first Gen-
eral Secretary. W. O. Marble, Jr., served a short term, and he was fol-
lowed by Mr. W. W. Barclay, who held that responsible position until
near the close of the second year. The election at that time resulted in
the selection of the following Board, who are now in office : James A.
Stratton, J. H. Mohns, R. M. Holman, T. B. Alford, B. W. Eddy, W.
K. Simpson, H. W. Barkhau, J. L. Loftis, S. B. Johnston, R. R. Brown,
Charles A. Merrill, Dr. W. E. B. Davis, and W. W. Barclay ; General
Secretary, W. G. Chamberlin.
The second anniversary meeting was held in O'Brien's Opera House
on the evening of November 28, 1886. The attendance was very large,
and impressive addresses were made, and the third year's work began
with renewed vigor.
November, 1886, they published the first volume of a monthly maga-
zine, which is " devoted to the best interests of the young men of Ala-
bama." The publishing committee is J. A. Stratton, W. E. B. Davis,
and B. W. Eddy. It is a neat and attractive pamphlet, and destined to
do good work for the association.
Binnvigkam Press Club. — One of Birmingham's most notable and
important local organizations is the Press Club, an association composed
of the leading newspaper men in the city. This club was organized Jan-
uary I, 1887, and its birth celebrated with a grand press banquet, served
at Gasser's. The officers of the club are: J. L. Watkins, editor of the
3o6 Jeffei'son Cojinty.
Age, President ; George W. Cruikshank, editor of the Chronicle, Vice-
President; J. D. Ponder, city editor of the Chronicle, Secretary; W. L.
Hawley, city editor of the Age, Treasurer; F. C. Morehead, R. H.
Watkins, C. M. Hayes, Goldsmith, Barnard, West, Directors.
The club has twenty-three members, and is in a flourishing condition.
Women's Cliristiaii Temperance Union. — In the autumn of 1884 Mrs.
Sally F. Chapin, of Charleston, South Carolina, reached Birmingham in
her course of a general canvass of the Southern States in the interest of
temperance reform. She was superintendent of the Southern depart-
ment of the national temperance movement known under this name.
Mrs. Chapin succeeded in organizing a branch of the Union here, con-
sisting of twenty-three members to start on. The number soon grew
threefold. The work of the organization in Birmingham is to disseminate
temperance literature, promote temperance meetings and lectures, and
excite general inquiry into the consequences of intemperance. The
organization is active and untiring in its work, but never offends those
opposed to its principles by precipitate or unreasonable measures.
The original organization was made with Mrs. George L. Thomas,
President ; Mrs. Godden, Mrs. Pierce, Mrs. Ross, Mrs. Dozier, Vice-
Presidents ; Mrs. J. P. Tillman, Corresponding Secretary; Mrs. Robert
Jemison, Recording Secretary, and Mrs. E. M. Prine, Treasurer.
Superintendents have systematized the work of this branch of the
Union with much enthusiasm. Committees have the press, the Sabbath
school, scientific instruction, and other themes for elaboration and enforce-
ment. Wholesome influences already appear from its efforts.
The present organization retains the original officers, except that Mrs.
Rose has moved away. Mrs. W. H. Jeffries has been made Recording
Secretary, Mrs. C. B. Spencer Vice-President, and Mrs. J. P. Tillman
Corresponding Secretary. The State Convention of the Union was held
in Birmingham in 1885.
Yard Masters' Mutual Benefit Association. — This is a branch of the
national association, with headquarters at Indianapolis, Indiana. The
object is to insure members against death and accidents. The association
•discountenances strikes. Its influence is acknowledged by the railroads as
in the interest of peace and conservatism.
There are now sixteen members in the Birmingham branch, which
was organized April, 1885, with only eight charter members. J. L.
Welch is President.
Birmingham. 307
The annual assessment of members is $2. The sum derived is
divided, a part going to pay current expenses, the surplusage standing sub-
ject to meet insurance risks. Insurance is limited to $1,000. All finan-
cial transactions are conducted by the home office at Indianapolis.
Order of Railway Conductors, Division No. 186. — Organized Sep-
tember 20, 1885. This is a select body of railroad men organized for pro-
tection, in a general way, of its members. The division is very pros-
perous, numbering at present thirty-seven men. The number is thus
small because the passenger-train conductors are members of divisions
located at the termini of their runs, whereas Birmingham is on middle
ground.
The charter members on organization were C. F. Shumate, John T.
Alexander, H. J. Crenshaw, J. M. Tuck, R. G. De TreviUe, Charles
Flanders, W. D. Hester, S. L. Lineberry, C. E. Triggs, D. F. Hood, T.
A. Cole, T. J. Howell.
The present officers are : John T. Alexander, Chief; J. M. Tuck,
Assistant ; E. T. Cox, Secretary and Treasurer ; J. B. Read, Senior Con-
ductor ; Henry Le Roy, Junior Conductor.
There is an optional insurance feature. The policy is arbitrarily fixed
at $2, 500, neither more nor less. The members are all assessed to pay the
mortuary dues of the division. Dues are paid at the general office in
Chicago. Sickness or accidents not producing death are such cases as fall
under the local management and care of the division. Widows and
orphans are also attended to by the local authority.
Phanix Lodge, Knights of Pythias, No. 25. — This Lodge was moved
to Birmingham from Oxmoor, where it had been organized under the
name of Shade's Valley Lodge. The object of the organization is to
furnish optional insurance and sick benefits to its members. The insurance
policies run from one thousand to three thousand dollars.
The Alabama Club. — Was established by eight gentlemen, originally
as the Shakespeare Club, April 4, 1884. The club was organized by
Joseph A. Shakespeare, Mayor, at that time, of New Orleans (and for
him it was named) ; John T. Hardie, a prominent capitalist of New
Orleans; J. M. Lewis, of Talladega; Joseph F. Johnston, President of
the Alabama National Bank; James Spence, E. W. Rucker, Bernard Pey-
ton, and T. B. Lyons, of Birmingham. T. B. Lyons was made President,
and has filled the office ever since. James Spence is Secretary.
5o8 JcJ]erson Coimty.
The membership at present is about one hundred and fifty, and could
readily be extended to five hundred. No unpleasant occurrences have
marred its history.
The name was changed, in July, to the Alabama Club. The change
was made more for the purpose of expressing the enlarged influence it
had attained, and the suggestion to make it came from Mr. Shakespeare
himself.
A clubhouse has been built for them by the Elyton Land Company
at Lakeview. They have the gratuitous use of it as long as they wish.
This house is used as their summer quarters. The club has contracted
for a handsome building, five stories high, now being built for them on
Twenty-first street, between Second and Third avenues. When done it
will be one of the handsomest buildings in Birmingham.
The German Society. — The name indicates that this is an organization
of Germans resident in Birmingham. The organization was made in 1884,
and in 1886 there were seventy members. The original object of the asso-
ciation was to cultivate the science of music and art among the members.
The population, of the German nationality, so increased in the city that the
society petitioned the public school authorities to teach their native tongue.
It was agreed that if the city would pay half the salary of the professor
engaged to give the instruction the society would make up the other half.
The new branch of study soon proved so attractive that the city assumed
the whole expense of instruction in it.
The officers of the society arranged an imposing Mardi Gras display
at the celebration of its anniversary in 1886, which paraded the streets
to the delight of the city.
E. Lesser is President; H. Pearl, Vice-President; Paul Sieg, Secre-
tary, and C. T. Rambow, Treasurer.
Grand Army of the Republic, George A. Custer Post, No. 49. — Organ-
ized, with thirteen members, December, 1885, by Colonel E. S. Jones,
Department Commander of Nashville. Officers installed were E. N.
Edmonds, Commander; W. H. Hunter, S. V. C. ; S. H. Morgan, J. V.
C. ; F. G. Sheppard, Adjutant; W. M. St. Clair, O. M. ; A. J. Silas,
Chaplain.
Knights of Labor, District Assembly No. 173. — Organized October
16, 1886, comprising twelve assemblies. C. H. Bowling, D. R. .S. Box
No. 407.
Birmiiighani. 309
Labor Assembly, No. 5,009, was organized Decembers, 1885. Labor
Assemblies, Nos. 5,337, 8,058, 8,059, 8,758, 8,334, and 9,331 have been
organized since, and also three others not yet numbered. A State Assem-
bly was recently formed in this city that has jurisdiction over the order
throughout the entire State.
The order is gaining in members, and has at its head men of sound
discernment and good standing in the community in which they live.
They have a local organ.
There have been no serious disputes between the order and capital,
now unadjusted, except in the Iron Age Publishing Company and the
Eureka Furnace Company. Non-Union men are employed by these cor-
porations. The order has taken no political course as yet, but supported
a candidate for mayor of Birmingham at the election of 1886, who was
unsuccessful.
PLACES OF AMUSEMENT AND HOTELS.
O'Briefts Opera House. — Was commenced in May, 1882, and the
following November was opened to the public. The building covers a
space of 100 X 140 feet, and 89 feet high, and is well stocked with
scenery, etc. The seating capacity is about 1,200. Mr. O'Brien will,
during the year 1887, enlarge the capacity, and refurnish the house.
The proprietor and manager is consistent in his efforts to command
the best patronage by supplying the best plays of good companies. He
is very liberal in allowing the use of his handsome house for public conve-
niences as occasions arise.
The Casino. — This establishment is well conducted by its proprietor,
Mr. J. M. Caldwell. It is a brick building, and the interior is arranged
conveniently to seat, perhaps, 1,600 people. The seats are classed, and
paid for accordingly.
Academy of Music. — To be built in the summer of 1887.
Tlte Caldivell Hotel Company. — Incorporated February, 1886. This
corporation undertook to build the earliest first-class hotel for Birmingham.
The plan of the building is si.x stories, of a very chaste and attractive
architecture. It rests on an elevation commanding a wide view. Tl tre
will be an observatory on the tower of the building. The architect is
3IO Jefferson County.
Edouard Sidel, a resident of the city. Dr. H. M. Caldwell subscribed the
lot, on which his handsome residence then stood, for the site. He is also
the largest individual stockholder, and is President of the company.
Joseph F. Johnston, President of the State National Bank, is Secretary
and Treasurer.
The incorporators were H. M. Caldwell, John W. Johnston, A. B.
Johnston, Joseph F. Johnston, William A. Walker, Jr., E. W. Rucker,
Willis J. Milner, and John B. Boddie, all of Birmingham.
Among other good hotels are the Florence, Richards, Wilson, Metro-
politan, Commercial, Morris Avenue, Belmont, Brunswick, First Avenue,
and Oswald. Mr. F. P. O'Brien will build one adjoining his Opera House,
and a corporation will build another in the summer of 1887.
CHAPTER IX.
The bench anb bar..
JUDGES.
\l/ Q rnM<^<d Though not, by right of nativity, an Alabamian, the subject of
' y' I y ' this sketch, from infancy to the'grave, lived and prospered in this
world's honors and its goods in Jefferson County.
Born in Kentucky in 1816, he came to Alabama in 1817 and gathered his first intui-
tions in the beautiful border land of North Alabama, in Madison and Lawrence
Counties.
Little is known of his early instruction in Jefferson, where he received his aca-
demic education, but some of his old schoolmates still surviving remember him as a
quiet, resolute, discreet, and brave boy, neither very social nor yet repulsive in his
manners ; always modest and yet ambitious ; just the kind of boy to possess a magnet-
ism over his fellows and to keep on a little higher plane than they. These character-
istics were prominent in his whole career, showing themselves in the old man with
greater distinctness than when, in the noon of his vigor, they were kept in abeyance
by stronger passions and more urgent thoughts.
The education of the young man at college was in harmony with his natural incli-
nations. It was gained upon the medium ground between the puritanic and the chiv-
alric. It was encompassed by the golden mean of discreet conservatism. This was
the path into which he was led and kept while in the classic walls of St. Joseph's Col-
lege, Bardstown, Ky.
In that day and time it was not easy for a young, ambitious, and brilliant man,
with no special religious bias, to escape personal difficulties and encounters. But,
though notedly brave and chivalrio, his walk was held with such shrewd discretion, in
his chosen path of peace, that strife and bitterness seemed to keep afar off from him.
3 1 2 Jefferson County.
Kentucky has furnished Alabama some noted men, among the number the two
Baylors, both men of culture and high intellect— if not the gift of genius. In the office
of W. K. Baylor, Esq., young Mudd received his first lessons in the lore of law books.
Doubtless the teacher has more to do with character building than we are apt to
imagine, and if he be a man of strong will and magnetism, the young under his tuition
being of the plastic kind, will receive impressions which mature into habits as lasting
as life. Young Mudd's opening career showed the hand of the master. If the line of
Wadsworth be true, that
'• The child is father to the mau."
we are enabled by having a knowledge of the boy to infer the history of the man's
whole life. We have here known the man, and by reasoning backward
we have here learned the boy. He was well taught from earliest manhood.
At the age of twenty-three we find him in our legislative halls, by the side of Jere
Clemens, of Madison, and L. P. Walker, of Lawrence, and W. L. Yancey, of Coosa,
together with a brilliant galaxy of young " solons," many of whom became, in
after years, great in the forum and field — jurists, lawyers, soldiers, and literati. From
this early stage, on to the close of his life, honors of one kind or other awaited him.
For three terms he sat in the legislature, and by his wisdom and legal acumen was in
the front rank of those who shaped the destinies of our people. Stepping from the
legislative hall he took the State solicitorship, with its arduous responsibilities. From
the solicitorship he stepped into the circuit judgship. From the bench, which he
held through many popular elections for near thirty years with undiminished confi-
dence, the strong arm of death only removed him. No Alabamian ever pursued more
remarkable a career than Judge Mudd From earliest manhood popular and admired,
till the last flickering of life's spark, he retained his hold on the affection of the masses
and the respect and admiration of our most distinguished citizens.
His name is now a household word in Jefferson, Walker, Marion, Blount, and other
counties, where the people's differences for so long were tried before him. His memory
is part of the history of these hill country people. His individuality was of so marked
a character that it amounted almost to genius. So eminently practical and just were
his motives that it was a habit with him to sit apparently idle, in the deepest musing
for hours, analyzing the cases that were to be tried at his tribunal, researching for the
bottom principle of the matter in dispute, delving down beneath the cloak of legal
technicalities and prying into the heart of it for the silent equities hidden beneath.
He loved justice! A few weeks before his death he said to the writer of this sketch :
" The judgship is a thorny honor. I have often been in perfect anguish when cases
of great crime came before me. Night after night I have read and studied the evi-
dence for and against the prisoner, and have always dreaded lest I might cause the
destruction of an innocent person. In trials of the rights of property 1 have studied
hard the best authorities for weeks and months, and yet when the case had come up
for judgment I have found my mind and heart deeply pained and in a struggle of
doubt when I saw the legal triumphing over the equitable, and I, the judge, irresolute
as to how I should decide. No case, however insignificant, has ever been set aside by
me without giving it a fair chance."
Conscientiousness and magnanimity are twin brothers. No heart can be but good
that loves justice. Judge Mudd's bitterest enemy had no just cause to fear unfairness
at his hands when arraigned before him in the court-room, and this spirit of magna-
nimity and equity, of loving kindness and charity was the corner-stone of that splendid
temple of the people's confidence, which the storuis of opposition and the cankering,
Biographical. 3 1 3
sapping current of near forty years vicissitudes of the public service could not over-
throw. It was founded not on the sands of popular applause, but rather on the rock
of justice.
Judge Mudd ijas eminently a business man. Unlike other great lawyers he did
not neglect his own affairs while immersed in those of other men. For many years he
was a prosperous merchant, and accumulated a good round fortune in the mercantile
pursuit, with J. B. Earle as partner. W. S. Brown and William Hood, two of Bir-
mingham's now most progressive, active and live merchants, were among their clerks,
and received their business education and tutelage under his direction.
To him is due much of Birmingham's material development. In the early life of
the city he was a shrewd and potent factor. To him the city owes the credit of build-
ing her first public inn, the Florence House, worthy the name of hotel. In this act he
illustrated his abiding faith in the Magic City, where he had ventured much of his life's
hard-won earnings. When the fate of the Magic City was still trembling in the bal-
ance, and other much richer men than he would not venture even in a stock company
upon such a cloudy sea, he boldly cast the die of his own fortune. The success of the
venture confirms not only his foresight but also his practical common sense.
Judge Mudd married, in early life, Miss Florence Earle, a descendant of the family \/^
of Earles, who were pioneers in Jeffer.son County settlement. They reared a large
family. Their imposing residence, resting on a wooded knoll in the valley on the
skirts of Elyton, is one of the most beautiful of Southern homes. A happy domestic
life, where sons grew to manhood in the nurture of honorable example and sound pre-
cept, and where daughters, " polished like the pillars of the temple," spread joy,
reigned there. The children now living all reside in Birmingham. They are Mrs. Dr.
M. H. Jordan, Mrs. William A. Walker, Jr., J. P. Mudd, a leading man of business,
and a maiden. Miss S. E. Mudd.
Judge Mudd departed this life September 22, 1884. He was a communicant in the
Episcopal Church. His remains were interred in the family lot at Elyton by the side
of his wife. The demonstrations of public grief on the occasion were becoming to the
deep and sincere hold he held on the public affections.
Lines on the Death of Judge W. S. Mudd.
Another watchworn sentinel
Has fallen from his post,
Where through long years he guarded well,
Himself and Right a host.
A brave, good man, who dared to do
What he thought right and best,
He passed each dread ordeal through
With honor on his crest.
Unbought by bribing friend or foe,
Unswerved by frown or smile,
To justice pledged, for weal or woe,
He nursed and wrought no guile.
With all the prophet's hate of wrong.
The prophet's love of right,
Without the prophet's gift of song.
He glimpsed his rare foresight.
3 1 4 Jefferson County.
Albeit unsmit of genius' gift,
Like inspiration rose
His sphynx of common sense, and swift
Brought argument to its^close,
" Mens sibi conscia recti " was
The legend of his life;
It bound his heart like triple brass
Alike in peace and strife.
And now he sleeps ; each pain, each ache
Of heart and brain no more ;
But faithful mem'ry keeps awake
His precious ashes o'er.
We mourn him — not as one in bloom
Of usefulness returned —
His work half done — to his " long home,"
But as a stay is mourned.
Yes, mourn him as a pillar missed
From our palladium, while
Most needed — for he kept his tryst
With duty without guile.
And fell, all shattered by his toil.
Not broke by " folly's vails : "
Crushed like a victor by hi.s spoil ;
Worn out by labor's ails.
So sleeps the noble heart in dust ;
But what he did lives on.
And wins for him this greeting : " Just
And faithful one, well done."
Leeds, Ala. Samuel L. Robertson.
J_L_ T lio-flin is a native of Walton County, Georgia, and was born August
*^VV )• /1\7"V 13, ISL'O.
He is a son of Wyatt and Sarah Stell Heflin, the former a native of Orange County,
North Carolina, and the latter of Hancock County, Georgia. On the paternal side he is
of English and Scotch descent, and his early ancestors came to America with Lord
Granville, before the Revolution. On the maternal side he is of Huguenot extraction,
and his mother's ancestors were early settlers of Virginia.
His parents were married in Georgia, and lived there until their immigration to
Alabama in 1833 and their setttlementin Randolph County. They resided in Randolph
up to the time of their respective deaths, the father dying in ISdO and mother in 1869.
The former was a planter and merchant, and served in the legislatures of both Georgia
and Alabama.
There were eight children in the family, of whom John T. was the third in order
of birth. He received an academic education in Georgia, and in 1839 began the study
of law in Chambers County, Alabama, in the office of Steiner & Phillips, and after a
Biographical. 315
faithful course of two years application to study was admitted to the practice in 1841,
and has had a continuous and active professional career of nearly fifty years, and in
this long period has witnessed great changes in the character of his country. For the
first sixteen years, succeeding the time of his admission to the bar, he practiced his
profession, alone, in Randolph County, and served as a member of the State Senate dur-
ing the session of the legislature of 1851-52. In 1857, or about that time, he moved to
Jacksonville, the county seat of Calhoun County, and was associated with William H.
Forney, now a member of Congress, for three years. In 18U0 he moved to Talladega,
and in the second year thereafter was elected circuit judge, and remained on the bench
until 18(55. During the war he was in active service and belonged to the Topographical
Corps, and planned the route for many marching commands. After the war he
resumed the practice of law in Talladega and continued there for seventeen years, and
in the year 1875 was a member of the State Constitutional Convention, called for the
purpose of forming a new constitution. He took an important part in the delibera-
tions of that body. He first came to Birmingham in April, 1882, and became senior
member of the firm of Heflin, Bowdon & Knox. This association continued until the
death of Mr. Bowdon, and the firm is now known as Heflin & Knox, the latter being
one of the leading resident attorneys at the Talladega bar. Mr. Heflin has devoted
himself almost exclusively to his profession, and has won some distinguished triumphs
by his pleadings in behalf of clients. In 1886 he was before the State Convention of
the Democratic party as a candidate for the nomination for Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of the State, and believes he received more votes in the convention
than his sole competitor, but his opponent was, nevertheless, declared the successful
candidate. Mr. Heflin is a Bourbon Democrat, and believes most fully in the princi-
ples of that party.
He was married in 1862 to Mrs. Bowdon, of Talladega. Her maiden name was
Sarah E. Cliilton. She was a native of Kentucky, and died June 1, 187^.
Mr. Heflin is a Free Mason. He feels as one who has been occupied with the
highest employment of which his mental gifts were capable, and looks back over his
life with emotions of reasonable satisfaction. Being yet vigorous, for his years, he con-
tinues to reap the rewards of his eminent ability.
J-jUj. n rnrvrrrjui belongs to one of the oldest and best known families of Jef- y
^'/V V /'l'^' '*-'«' ferson County. He was born on December 31, 1838. He
was born at the residence of his grandmother, situated about two and one-half miles
north of the Elyton Court House, and it is still standing on Village Creek. Had he been
born at his home in Elyton the strange co-incidence of the birth of himself and his wife
in the same house would have occurred. This was owing to the fact that W. A. Walker,
the latter's father, bought bis father's residence. His father, Hugh Morrow, came from
South Union, Ky., and settled in Elyton September, 1825. He was, however, a native
of Abbeville District, South Carolina. Hugh Morrow's mother was a Calhoun, and a
relative of John C. Calhoun.
When Hugh Morrow first came to Jefierson County he taught school at Jonesboro,
now Bessemer. There are still pupils living in this immediate locality whom he taught.
He continued to teach school until 1S33, and in that year was appointed circuit clerk
for Jefferson County by Judge L. L. Perry, and was an officer of the county in that
capacity up to 1858, an unbroken succession of twenty-five years. The records now on
file at the courthouse are models of neatness, beauty of handwriting and perfect cor-
rectness, as kept by him. Out of the many thousands of pages of writing he did,,
during all this time, not a single interlineation, eifacement, erasure, or blemish can be^
3 1 6 Jeffe)'S07i County.
discovered. As an officer of integrity and honesty he was irreproachable. In 1858 he
retired to his farm, near Trussville, in this county, where he has since lived. He was
born in February, ISO.i, and has now, therefore, passed his eighty-second year, and ia
still vigorous and hearty. He has reared a family of thirteen children, ten of whom
are now living in this county. The Morrows have taken rank among its most influ-
ential people in every era of the county's history.
His mother, Margaret Holmes, was a Tennesseean by birth and came to this county,
when an infant, with her family. She was married here. Her father and mother,
James and Sarah Killough Holmes, subsequently moved to Pontotoc County, Missis-
sippi. She is still living, and has passed her seventieth year.
The children were Harriet L., AViltiam S., Mrs. Julia Praiter, Dr. George M., Wool-
8ey P., Catherine Frazier, AlphonsoR., Josephine, now Mrs. Dr. J. C.Jones, and Milton.
Catherine is the only one living beyond the bounds of the county.
John C. Morrow first went to school in Elyton to the Rev. F. M. Grace, and also to
Jacob H. Baker, one of the most thorough educators that ever lived in Jefferson
County. This was the finishing touch to his scholastic training, and was concluded in
18.54. At this time he began reading law in Tuscaloosa under Judge Peck, who after-
ward, in the year 1868, was Chief Justice of this State. In 1856 he went to the Lebanon,
Tennessee, Law School, and among those of his schoolmates who have since become
distinguished, are Col. G. W. Hewitt, of Birmingham ; Judge Reuben Gaines, now on
the Supreme Bench of Texas; L^nited States Judge Jackson, of Tennessee, and Col.
Enoch Ensley, President of the Pratt Coal and Iron Company. He graduated in Feb-
ruary, 1857, and on his way home passed through Montgomery, where he obtained hia
license to practice law. Judge Samuel F. Rice was then Chief Justice. He practiced
in Elyton from 1857 to 1865, and was a partner of Col. Hewitt from 1859 to 1866. In
1862 he went from JefTerson County as First Lieutenant of Company G, Twenty-eighth
Alabama Regiment of Infantry. He resigned liis office in September, 1862, on account
of failure of his health. He was, prior to this, in the campaign through Kentucky.
When he regained his health he rejoined the Confederate Army, February, 1863, by
enlisting as a private in Major Lewis' Battalion of Cavalry. In August of that year he
was elected to the State Legislature by the people of his native county, and served dur-
ing the years from 1863 to 1865 inclusive. On August 7, 1865, several months after the
close of the war, he was appointed Probate Judge of Jefferson County by Lewis E.
Parsons, Provisional Governor of this State. In May, 1866, he was elected to the posi-
tion by the people, and re-elected from 1868 and successively thereafter up to and
including 1884. In the last named year he resigned, and has since lived the life of a
private citizen. Socially, Judge Morrow is beloved by all his friends and greatly
esteemed by all his acquaintances. He is noted for his generosity and kindness of
nature. As a lawyer he is possessed of considerable ability ; as a judge he was just,
and gave great satisf.iction. He has alwaj's been a friend of the people, and no man
has ever lived in the county who has enjoyed greater popularity.
Judge Morrow has had much happiness in his domestic relations. He was married
in 1859 to Miss Mary, daughter of W. A. Walker, of Elyton. He has seven children
living and two dead. The names of the former are Emma C, now Mrs. J. J. Cahalan ;
Nettie, now Mrs. Dr. Ledbetter ; Fannie S., Mamie, Hugh, Katie, and Willie, all of
whom are living in Birmingham.
Judge Morrow is a Knight Templar Mason. Most of the members of his family
belong to the M. E. Church, South.
He is in comfortable circumstances, and is one, among many, who have profited by the
great development which has taken place during the past few years in his native county.
Biographical. 3 1 7
Thn/nac PnKKc °'*® '^^ "'® most eminent law3'eiis and jurists of the State of
I r^U/lldb V^UDDb, ^ia},ajjja_ ig a native of Raleigh, N. C, and son of Thomas
and Sarah Boone Cobbs, both natives of the same State.
The father of our subject was a cultivated, learned gentleman, and also a manufac-
turer and planter. He was a man of marked influence, socially and politically; a dem-
ocrat of the sttictest sect, he was elected mayor of Raleigh several terms over his
whig competitor, Hon. Western Gales, and that, too, when the whig party in the city
was overwhelmingly in the majority. Captain Cobbs removed to Alabama in the
winter of 1841 and died in the following September.
The mother of our subject was a daughter of Colonel Joseph Boone, of Revolu-
tionary fame, whose lineage is traced to the early colonists of Virginia.
Chancellor Cobbs enjoyed superior educational advantages until he reached his
fourteenth year, when the loss of his father and the embarrassed pecuniary condition
of his mother precluded the possibility of a college or university course of training.
Fortunately, however, his father had left him an excellent library, and his studious
habits, coupled with superior attainments of his early youth in the classics and math-
ematics, enabled him, through the medium of books, to acquire what was equivalent
to an excellent university course without the distinction of a university degree. His
early environments, as well as his taste and ambition, naturally inclined him to the
profession of law. Under the tutelage of his brother, Hon. James Cobbs, of Mobile,
he was prepared for his chosen profession, and in 1856 he was admitted to the bar by
Judge John D. Moore. The period usually consumed by young lawyers in waiting for
practice and acquiring experience, in this instance, was filled with a succession of
brilliant successes. From his first entrance into the field he was eminently successful
in buililing up a large and lucrative practice. In 1867, at the fall term of the Choctaw
County Circuit Court, Hon. James Cobbs presiding, a very important murder case was
tried, and, as one of the attorneys for the defense, our subject made the leading argu-
ment, which stamped him in the public mind as one of the most capable and distin-
guished criminal lawyers in the State.
For many years he was associated with that distinguished lawyer, Robert H. Smith,
attending to their practice in Sumter County, which relation continued until the death
of Colonel Smith in 1878. In 1880 he was elected to the office of Chancellor of the
Western Division of Alabama, and his administration of the duties of that important
trust was so satisfactory that in 1886 he was re-elected without opposition. The follow-
ing extract from the Montgomery Advertiser is a fitting tribute to his talents, and, so
far from being one of those highly-tinted eulogies with which the press is too apt to
abound, it is only a modest endorsement of rare and eminent worth :
" This able, faithful, and judicious officer was nominated for a second term by the
convention of the Western Chancery Division. He has established himself so
thoroughly by his fair and impartial decisions, and by his uniform courtesy to the bar
and people, as to prevent any thought of opposition, and he receives, as he deserves,
the unanimous endorsement of the convention. The chancellor is regarded by all who
know him as a fair and impartial judge ; laborious and painstaking in every case, and
is regarded in the State as one of her most eminent judges."
Chancellor Cobbs was united in marriage in 1850, with Miss Lucy L., daughter of
George and Margaret Thom, of Virginia. This union has been blessed with thee chil-
dren ; Thomas D. is a prominent lawyer in Texas, James B., the cashier of the Berney
National Bank, is one of the most promising young financiers in the South, and Nellie,
the wife of Prof. J. H. Phillips, who is an accomplished lady, and noted for her superior
musical talents.
3 1 8 Jefferson County.
Chancellor Cobbs became a resident of Birmingham in 1883, and ranks as one of
the " Magic City's" most cultivated and eminent citizens. He is a member of the
Episcopal Church.
rnlh^h^ll T Dort'^r '^^^ bom in Shelby County, Alabama, in 1825. His
' ' / \' \ ancestry is traced to colonial times of the " Old
Dominion" State, where his grandparents, on both his father's and mother's side,
were born.
His father, Mitchell A. Porter, came with his parents, at a very early period, to
Tennessee, where he studied medicine at Knoxville, subsequently immigrating to Ala-
bama during the Indian period, locating at Montevallo, Shelby County, where he
practiced his profession until his death.
The mother of our subject, Mary Porter, nee Wade, came with her parents to
Shelby County, Alabama, from Virginia in the early days of the State. After the
death of her husband she removed with her family to Jefferson County (where her
parents had previously removed), and located near the present site of Birmingham.
Subsequently she married Thomas Adkins, one of the " old time " merchants of Elyton,
and resided there until her death in 1856. By her first marriage she left two children,
Mitchell T. and Corrilla, wife of William A. Walker.
The subject of this biography received an academic education, graduating from the
University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Deciding upon the legal profession, he entered
the office of the late Judge William S. Mudd, where he studied diligently until he was
licensed to practice in 1850. His practice was commenced at Elyton, where, for some
time, he was associated with the late Hon. Alburto Martin.
In 1861 he entered the Confederate service as Captain of Company C, Twentieth
Alabama Infantry, and remained in active service until the spring of 1864, when, having
attained the rank of lieutenaut-colonel of his regiment, he was forced, by failing health,
to resign. Judge Porter was in some of the most severe engagements of the war ; his
regiment participated in the Kentucky expedition, until reaching Covington, under
General Kirby Smith, and also in the battles of Port Hudson, Champion Hills, and
for two months was besieged in Vicksburg, his company never being released from the
trenches, and lo.sing heavily.
After the fall of that city he returned home on parole and found his name announced
for State Senator for the district comprising Shelby and Jeflferson Counties. He was
elected and served one term.
Judge Porter continued in practice in Elyton until 1881, when, upon the removal
of the courthouse, he became a resident of Birmingham, where he continued to prac-
tice until November, 1884, when he was appointed Judge of Probate by Governor
O'Neal, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Judge John C. Morrow.
In August, 1886, he was elected by the people for a term of six years.
Although over sixty years old his age sits lightly upon him, and he is ever busily
engaged with the important and arduous duties pertaining to his trust. The ease with
which he dispatches the vast amount of business which is brought before him seems to
indicate that he has many more years of usefulness in store.
True to every trust, with fine legal attainments, a recorci as an honest and impar-
tial judge, and, withal, a generous and true Christian gentleman, he is sincerely admired
and respected by the whole people.
Judge Porter was united in marriage in 1853 with Miss J. Catherine Martin, a
daughter of Colonel John M. Martin, a well-known resident of JefTerson County.
Biographical. 321
They have seven children now living, Mrs. Sarah E. Hunley, Mary C, Jennie, John
M., a West Point graduate, Mitchell A., William A., and Thomas W.
Judge Porter is a member of the Episcopal Church and his wife of the Baptist
denomination.
11 Q CharnO is a .son of William and Lucy G. Sharpe, the latter's maiden name ■
/ * ) ' y I IN being Lucy Reese, The former was a native of Richmond, Va.,
and the latter of Lynchburg. After marriage they remained in the State until 1832,
and then came to Alabama, and settled near Decatur, in Morgan County. They lived
there the remainder of their lives, the death of Mr. Sharpe occurring in 1853, and that
of Mrs. Sharpe in 1876. The former was a merchant, contractor, and builder, and sjient
many successful years in his business in the State of his adoption. There were hve
children born to them, all of whom are now living — B. R. Sharpe resides near Memphis,
Tenn.; Mrs. Sarah E., wife of J. W. Herring, of Morgan County; Mrs. Arabella V.,
wife of J. W. Lipscomb, of Cullman; Mrs. Eliza J., wife of William D. Orr, of New-
nan, Ga.; H. A. Sharpe, Birmingham, Ala.
The subject of this sketch was born in Morgan County, Alabama, in 1848. His
early educational advantages were such as the common schools of his county afforded.
After availing himself of these to the fullest extent, he attended the law department
of Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn., where he graduated in 1870, and at once
began the practice in his native county, where he continued until 1881. While living
in the county he was elected to and served in the lower branch of the legislature of
1878-79.
In 1881 he removed to Birmingham, and resumed the practice of his profession,
and in February formed a copartnership with James M. Weatherly, now the assistant
general counsel for the Georgia Pacific Railway.
This association proved mutually beneficial, and the firm had large and important
interests intrusted to their management, which proved that their clients were not
unwise. The dissolution of this copartnership was brought about by the appointment
of Mr. Sharpe to be judge of the city court, by Governor O'Neal, in December, 1884.
The appointment was universally approved by the bar, and the creation of the new
court was admitted by all to be a pressing necessity. Business had accumulated to
such an extent in the other courts that this court became absolutely essential to relieve
the pressure upon them.
Judge Sharpe's administration of his office gave great satisfaction, and at the gen-
eral State election in August, 1886, he was elected to fill the office forsix years. If men
are judged for capacity and fitness for any given position by the indorsement they
receive at the hands of the peopla. then surely may the subject before us be adjudged
an exceedingly suitable person for the oflice.
The city court is one of general common law and chancery jurisdiction for Jeffer-
son County, so constituted as not to conflict or clash with the circuit and chancery
courts.
Judge Sharpe belongs to the Knights of Honor and the Legion of Honor.
He was married in 1875 to Miss Mae Hansell, of Decatur, Alabama. He is the
father of four children, who are living — Augusta, Lucy, Ethel, and Carrie.
Judge Sharpe is still a young man, and if one were allowed to predict from the
present standpoint, it is safe to claim for him higher honor and greater success for his
future career.
32 2 Jefferson Coiaiiy.
Samuel ^arl(? (Jreene :« -"-^^ve of Jefferson county where he was born
^ N \N^^/\ in 1853. He is a descendant of some of the oldest
and most prominent families of this section, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in
this volume. He is the eldest of six children, now living, of Robert N. and Sarah E.
Greene. His father is a son of George L. and Jane Y. Greene, who were among the
early settlers of Jefferson County from South Carolina. His mother is a daughter of
Dr. Samuel S. Earle and Harriet H. Earle, who also removed here, in the early history
■ of the county, from South Carolina.
He received a collegiate education at the Washington and Lee University, Lexing-
ton, Va., and afterward became a teacher for four years in the Elyton and Birming-
ham schools. During this period he was also a law student in the ofhce of Porter &
Martin, and was admitted to the bar in 1880. He commenced the practice of his pro-
fession in November, 1881, at Jasper, Walker County, Ala., where he continued for
two years. In January, 1883, he returned to Birmingham, where he has since been
engaged in active and successful practice. In June, 1884, he was nominated by the
Democratic Convention, on the first ballot, to represent Jefferson County in the State
legislature, and at the general election, in August following, was elected by a large
majority. He served one term very acceptably to his constituents and with much
credit to himself ; and, although strongly solicited by his many friends to again become
a candidate, he declined to do so, preferring to devote his time exclusively to the prac-
tice of law. In October, 1885, he formed a law partnership with James E. Hawkins,
under the firm name of Hawkins & Greene. '
In 1887 Mr. Greene was appointed judge of the Criminal Courtof Jefferson County,
a high honor for so young an attorney.
He is a member of the Episcopal Church.
THE BAR.
Q I K J I r hr> /T\3 rhi n Jefferson County is the mother of no nobler son and wears on
" / I /• her escutcheon no fairer name than that of Alburto Martin.
Into her mountain fastnesses, when the tide of civilization had just begun to flow
through her beautiful valleys, came his father, a man of distinguished French extrac-
tion, and here, in 1830, his son " Burt " was born, and here grew to manhood. Educa-
ted in the best schools of that day, and graduated at the State University while yet in
his teens, he came home, as fine a specimen of haughty, graceful, dashing, young man-
hood as ever trod royal halls or bent the knee to fair woman's shrine. Indeed, he was
a fiery embodiment of chivalry. To be a " gentleman," in strict accordance with the
idea of the true knight, was inborn, and not cultivated ; it was a first, not a second
nature, in this gallant youth of the mountains.
Those who are familiar with the history of our wealthy and talented young men of
the " forties and fifties," whose fathers were masters of broad domains and many slaves I
whose methods, though lavish and careless, were yet lordly ; who regarded " mean-
ness " as the greatest stigma, and the fame of hospitality as a laurel crown — those
who know the history of those Flush Times of Alabama can but drop a tear of forgive-
ness over the record of follies and " wild oats " sowing, in which our bravest, purest,
and noblest may have indulged, without malice. For a few years young Martin drank
every cup of joy which the goddess held up to his lips. But at the age of twenty-six
he had buckled down to Blackstone, Coke, and Chitty, and proclaimed to the world,
Biographical. 323.
like " Prince Hal," to whom he bore reBCDiblance in more respects than in wiM esca-
pades, to use his quotation :
" I will live
To mock the expectations of the world,
To frustrate prophecies, and to raze out
Rotten opinion, who hath writ me down
After my seeming. The tide of blood in me
Hath proudly flowed in vanity till now.
Now doth it turn and ebb back to the sea,
Where it shall mingle with the state of floods.
And flow henceforth in formal majesty."
After three years of practice in his chosen profession he was sent to the legislature
in 1859, and again in 1861, as a reward for political services worthy of the citizen.
Politics had a strong charm for him, and he was rapidly developing into statesmanlike
methods when that higher and nobler passion of patriotism overcame all other senti-
ments in him and swept him, not unwillingly, for he was a soldier by temperament,,
into the tide of war.
He was among the first to pledge his convictions on the tented field. Forming a
company, he was chosen captain of it early in 1861. Mustered at Montgomery this
company became a part of the celebrated Tenth Alabama Infantrj-. The names of the
captains in this regiment are familiar to every well-informed Alabamian : John H. For-
ney, John H. t!aldwell, L. F. Box, Alburto Martin, Rufus W. Cobb, William H. For-
ney, J. M. Renfro, and J. J. Woodward. A more splendid galaxy of gallant young
men never gathered iirnuiid a camp fire or led a charge.
At Drainsville, at Yorktown, at Williamsburg, at Seven Pines, at Gaines' Mills, at
Frazier's Farm, and at the Second Manassas, Captain Martin led his gallant company,.
and at the last-named terrible conflict received a wound which terminated his military
career and came near co.sting him his life. Doubtless from the effects of this wound
his days were shortened.
Captain Martin, though hanging up his good sword, never so far forgot his convic-
tions as to be silent in retirement. He did yeoman's service in the rear. He stilL
waved the banner of his Southland over the heads of ihe shirking or disaffected. He
proclaimed the justice of the cause from the housetops of his mountain country, and
it required at one time no less daring to do this than it did to lead the charge in which
he was so desperately wounded.
In 1863 he was elected solicitor of his judicial circuit and ably filled this ofiice till
displaced by political policy. He was afterward replaced by the legislature and was
elected for a term of tliree years, at the expiration of which term his official career
ended in 1868.
These were the dark days of reconstruction. All the calamities which the con-
quered know seemed to sweep over us then. Public and private distrust ; households
divided against each other for conscience sake ; bitter animosities, social and public
ostracism, social and public persecution reigned defiantly. Added to these evils came
sickness, and financial ruin throughout the whole country. We may inadequately
comprehend the anguish which such a haughty and lofty spirit as Martin's had to
endure in this crisis. In the midst of his political activity his law practice became
extensive and lucrative, and the shrewd elements in his character developed to meet
the pressure and emergency of the times.
324 Jefferson County.
No man had a stronger and more active faith in his native land than Captain Mar-
tin. The Iron Mountain, whicli loomed up in front of his cottage door, seemed to bear
on its brow the name and legend of his native State — " Alabama, here we rest," — and
to say to the conquering invader, with his attendant evils, " Thus far shalt thou go and
no further." In the iron-ribbed fastnesses of Red Mountain prosperity shall found a
refuge and progress shall start here a new era of civilization. The words " New South "
and " material development" have become threadbare phrases now. They werealmost
offensive terms in 1868, when Captain Martin resolved to throw all the energy of his
nature and conviction into the utterance of them and into the promulgation of the great
ideas which they then but feebly expressed. Indeed, he believed in the Old South,
and died in that faith. In her bosom lay all the elements of greatness and progress
which was claimed for the New South. In the daj's past she had simply been nursing
in silence her real forces, preparing for " commencement day," .so to speak. The New
South was but the Old South divested of its burdens, but not of its vitality. It was
Martin's faith in the South's vitality that made him wise in his labors toward her
development and almost prophetic in providing for his own material prosperity. None
read the glorious possibilities of Jefferson and the surrounding counties with a shrewder
ken than he. His action and faith went hand in hand. His familiar maxim was to
" hedge " and take the chances on all sides. The wisdom of his " hedging " can now
be seen in and around Birmingham, where, dying, he has left an estate of great value.
It will be impossible for the future historian of Alabama to write of her greatness
without writing a true history of Birmingham, and it will be impossible to write a true
history of Birmingham without writing a true history of Alburto Martin. There is no
gainsaying the fact that Peters and Powell, Mudd and Morris, all men of great force
of character and wonderful energies ; that a thousand other natural and artificial forces
aided and assured the accomplishment before the world. Dr. Caldwell and his lieuten-
ant, W. J. Milner, have, we own, proven themselves very trusty and trustworthy offi-
cers. Linn, Sloss, and DeBardeleben each has held up " his end of the log," to use a
slang, but pertinent phrase, but none of them took hold with more vigor than Alburto
Martin, or threw themselves and their fortunes into the venture with more oneness
of purpose than he.
He scarcely lived, however, to see the fruition of his hopes and labor. He died in
Birmingham, in 1879.
Crvl/lcmlhh \\( H^\l/ihh ^'^'' Hewitt is a resident of Birmingham, in the
Oiab/lllli; VU. jlKVUKI.. pj.;,j^g gj jjfg^ _^,jj ^^ ^l^g ^pjjj ^f ^,jg principal law
firm of the county, Hewitt, Walker ct Porter. He was born in Jefferson t'ounty Feb-
ruary 14, 1834, and is the son of James H. and Eleanor Hewitt, nee Tarrant, early set-
tlers. The paternal grandfather was of Irish blood, a native of North (Carolina, and
James H. Hewitt, the father, was a Tennesseean by birth. He was a man of industry
■ and high moral character. He came to Jefferson County while it was a part of Blount,
and before the admission of the State into the Union. The Tarrants were of Scotch
origin. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Hewitt was one of the earliest preachers of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, who ministered in the county.
James H. Hewitt and his wife Eleanor reared a family in Jelferson of seven chil-
dren, four sons and three daughters. The mother died at home in 1853, and the father
five years later. The family were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
Goldsmith \V. Hewitt received an academic education in Jefferson County, and
began to study law in the office of Judge W. S. Mudd at Elyton. Subsequently he
entered the Lebanon Law School of Tennessee. In 1856 he was licensed to practice
^^^vi^^J^.
Biographical. 327
and became a member of the firm of Ernest & Earle. Later he formed a co-partner-
ship with John C. Morrow.
At the outbreak of the war between the States, in 1861, Mr. Hewitt promptly laid
aside his professional work to enter the Confederate army as a private in Company B,
Tenth Alabama Infantry. He served in this capacity until August, 1862, when he was
promoted to the captaincy of Company G, Twenty-eighth Alabama Infantry.
As a private soldier Mr. Hewitt participated in the battle of Seven Pines and the
Seven Days' battles around Richmond. As captain in the Twenty-eighth Regiment he
fought in the battle of Murfreesboro, and on September 20th was disabled by a wound
on the field of Chickamauga.
After the war Mr. Hewitt resumed the practice of law. In 1870, in a period of
great political excitement, he was elected to the lower house of the Alabama Legisla-
ture. At the next regular election he was sent to the State Senate. While holding
this office he was elected to the Federal House of Representatives.
Mr. Hewitt took his seat on the organization of the Forty-fourth Congress, and was
returned for four successive congresses, practically without opposition. He became
at once a working member. Not a brilliant orator, he proved to be a ready debater,
well informed, courageous, and incorruptible. He was active during his whole service
of eight years as a reformer, and, in ceaseless pursuit of an unostentatious line of con-
duct, accomplished much toward reconciling the prejudices against his State and sec-
tion then dominant in Congress.
The first act of Congressman Hewitt was to introduce " a bill to secure an impar-
tial administration of justice in the State of Alabama." The theory of the reform
consisted in the removal of political machinery from influence in the courts.
His second important bill was to put a stop to the partisan as.sessments of officials,
clerks, and others employed in the departments of the Federal civil service.
Among other leading measures introduced by him was a law to pension survivors
of the Indian and Mexican wars, and to repeal the act forbidding pensions to all save
those who had taken the Union side in the war of 1861-65 ; to remonetize silver ; to
prohibit the retirement of greenbacks and to prohibit banks of issue ; to suppress
polygamy in Utah ; to improve, by Federal aid, the rivers and harbors of Alabama ;
to secure for bona fide settlers the public domain of the Government. In the last days
of his congressional service he resisted, in the lower house, the senate amendments to
the Mexican contingent fund. For eighty or ninety consecutive hours, day and night,
Mr. Hewitt fought these amendments, and he believes that his resistance saved a bil-
lion of dollars to the Government.
Mr. Hewitt opposed the Reagan Interstate Commerce bill in all stages of its
progress. He al.so opposed the policy of the Government in selling the Alabama min-
eral lands to the highest bidder.
Mr. Hewitt is a revenue reformer, from the standpoint of the Chicago Democratic
platform of 1884. He favors the continuation of the custom-house system of taxa-
tion, with protection to American labor and capital as an " intentional incident." He
favors the abolition of all other modes of Federal taxation.
In 188.5, with the adjournment of the Forty-seventh Congress, Mr. Hewitt volun-
tarily retired to the life of a private citizen. Resuming his lucrative practice of the
law in Birmingham, he reluctantly consented to be elected to the lower house of the
Alabama Legislature in 1886. His services in that body have been very active and
influential.
In December, 1858, Mr. Hewitt was married to Miss Sarah J. Morrow, a daughter
of one of the pioneer settlers of JefTerson, Hugh Morrow. Hugh Morrow was clerk of
/
328 Jefferson Counly.
the Circuit Court of Jefferson for thirty years, and reared a large family of useful and
influential citizens. This wife died in 1S63, and one child was the only oflspring of the
marriage. In 1868 Mr. Hewitt married Mrs. H. E. Perkins, the daughter of Dr. Sam-
uel Earle, also one of the early settlers of Jefferson. With his wife and their two chil-
dren he now lives in comfortable circumstances in Birminghiim. No man of the
county commands a larger personal following than Goldsmith W. Hewitt. He is a
communicant in the Episcopal Church.
\li!ll!::im Q Wf^W/COr Ir it is a grateful duty to the biographer of individ-
U/lllld/l\ p. Uydll\(|^[ , J\ . jj^jg^ ^,^^ ^^^,g g^gj g^^.j^j influences for them-
selves in the vigorous life of Jeflferson County, to assign to its proper place one so
admirably well rounded as that of Mr. Walker. He possesses the equipoise of intellec-
tual faculties of a high grade, the grace of well-bred manner, and a handsome person
to define the tout ensemble of an individuality which must be confessed to be superior
to the general standard of manhood, even so respectable as that native to the region of
his origin.
William A. Walker, the father, as we have seen, was one of the earlier settlers of
Jones Valley. On his estate, in the vicinage of Elyton, his only son, William A.
Walker, Jr., was born in 1846. There were six children to make happy a well-ordered
home, maintained by prudence, wisdom, and prosperity. It was a home typical of the
virtues, enjoyments, and aspirations of Southern society, under Southern institutions,
of the period of its happy existence. The head, the father, was industrious, circum-
spect, and hospitable. The domestic regime moved under the auspices of frugal yet
abundant measures, after their kind, presided over by his helpmeet. The children
were taught in letters as the country permitted, and in manners and morals by the
daily lives of those who had given them life.
William A. Walker, Jr., was sent to the neighborhood schools, the best nurseries
of human nature, in the season of boyhood, which our educational methods have thus
far devised. He slept under his father's roof, and spent his hours awake in continual
contact with the tempers, intellects, courage, and idiosyncracies directed by the motives
of boyhood. Directed by the motives of manhood, he now daily encounters the same
human nature, and, thus early made familiar with its scope and meaning, has been
able to take, in its aSiiirs, a commanding position, commensurate with his natural
instincts and high capacity.
William A. Walker, Jr., entered the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa in his
sixteenth year. He was a student (or cadet, the institution being under military
administration) and in the senior class, when, in September, 1863, he enlisted in a
company formed from the University corps, and commanded by Captain C. P. Storrs,
a fellow cadet, to join the Seventh Alabama Cavalry, Confederate States Army. He
continued in the service until the final surrender and disbaudment of the military
forces of the Confederacy. He had been promoted sergeant, and had some unpleasant
experiences as a prisoner of war in the period of active hostilities.
Returning to Elyton, young Walker entered at once upon work as a school teacher
in the community of his friends and neighbors. After, perhaps, eight months service
in this field, he entered upon the study of the law. In 1867 he was admitted to the
bar. Entering at once upon the practice of his profession, he was so fortunate, as an
example of the usual good fortune of his life, to be taken into co-partnership with
Burwell Boykin Lewis, a gentleman of scholarly attainments, great energy, and of the
highest moral character. Mr. Lewis became a leader of the new era. He was elected
(^/A^^
Biogi-aphical. ■},}, i
to Congress, and resigned to take the presidency of tlie State University, where he died
in the prime of a highly useful and honorable career, regretted by the whole State.
Mr. Walker became the junior member of the law firm, Cobb, Lewis & Walker.
The senior afterward served two terms as Governor of Alabama.
In 1870 he formed a copartnership with Hon. (j. W. Hewitt, for eight years a
member of Congress.
August 23, 1870, in his twenty-fourth year, Mr. Walker was happily married to
Miss Virginia T., daughter of the late eminent jurist, W. S. Mudd, a near neighbor.
They have six children, two daughters and four sons.
Mr, Walker held the responsible and laborious office of County Solicitor from 1868
to 1876, and distinguished himself as an honorable and .successful prosecutor.
He is a large stockholder and a director of the First National Bank of Birming-
ham. He was elected, in 1885, president of that prosperous institution, but after ten
months service he discovered tlie irreconcilable nature of the office with his practice
before the courts, and voluntarily resigned it.
The lirm, Hewitt, Walker & Porter, commands a very large and profitable clientele.
Corporation practice engages its labors largely. As a lawyer Mr. Walker is esteemed
for the accuracy of liis opinions and the absolute devotion lie brings to his cause. His
investigations of autliorities and his energj- in pursuit of e\-idence to sustain bis case
are so marked by intelligence and natural aptitude to assimilate that which is of value
to him that he seldom loses a client capable of appreciating these elements in a law-
yer's mind. The oratory by which the law and evidence must be argued and explained
to court and jury is earnest in manner and fluent in diction, dignified, as the speaker
always is, and effective to sustain the reputation of a successful pleader and advocate.
In 1878 he was elected to the legislature, but has not sought political preferment.
His perfect health, elastic constitution, sound judgment, and great industrj' bid
fair to preserve him as a rising influence in, tliis, thepivotal factor of Alabama's revived
civilization. He is already a rich man. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South.
DnK^rh U DoarROn ^'^'^ born in Barbour County, Alabama, in 1848. Hie
V /'In ' parents, Benjamin F. and Harriet M. Pearson, were
both natives of North Carolina, where they were married. They came to Alabama and
settled in Barbour County in 1840. There were six children born to them, and of their
three sons Robert H. was the youngest. Two of his sisters and one brother, Herbert,
are living in Texas; the others are dead.
The early years of the subject of this sketch were passed on the farm, where he
assisted his fatlier in agriculture. The rudiments of his education were obtained at
home, and under the instruction of his competent parents. In this happy environ-
ment was laid the elements of his strong character and fine sense. Influences here
imbibed have, no doubt, been the basis of his phenomenal success in life.
He taught school for some time prior to his attendance at the University of Ten-
nessee. He thereafter went to Lebanon, Tenn., and pursued a course in the law
department there. Upon the completion of his course tliere lie came to Birmingham,
early in 1872. He is the only lawyer remaining of those who were here when he came.
Beginning the practice of law upon arrival, in Birmingham's roughest age, there was
full scope for the exercise of his positive character ; and the inhabitants of that time
remaining bear glad testimony of his strong influence upon the character of the city in
those early days. Nor has this influence ceased. Growing up with the growth of the
place his professional work increased with it, and his influence lias always been felt for
19
332 Jefferson County.
good. He has amassed a considerable amount of property, and is now enjoying great
prosperity, to which his pluck and energy have entitled him. He is the legal represen-
tative of many of the strongest corporations in Birmingham, and director in many others.
Mr. Pearson has never sought political preferment, and has seldom accepted it,
although he has often been solicited to do so. The nearest approach to this that he
has permitted himself to accept has been the position of Chairman of the Democratic
Executive Committee of the county, which he held for two terms; and he was for four
years Assistant Solicitor of the Circuit for JefTerson County. He has always been one
of the leaders in the Democratic councils .since his residence here, and has presided
over some of the most important conventions ever held in thecount)-. He has labored
for the interests of his partj', and has been and is ever ready to forward them. He is
devoted to his profession, and. his practice is large and lucrative; and although he does
not now need it as a support,' he is determined to pass his life in the practice of law.
He has a very large circle of >strong friends ; and although a positive man, he has but
few, if any, enemies. His friends rejoice with him in his success in life.
Mr. Pearson was married, in the latter part of 1875, to Miss Sallie, daughter of
L. C. Harrison, of Dallas County, Alabama. They have one child, a daughter, Mamie,
and they reside in a beautiful home in the northern portion of the city. They are
members of the Episcopal Church, and among its most earnest supporters.
He is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
Jot^i) 5alia|^(^rro S^rry
is a native of the Chester District, South Caro-
lina, where he was born August 31, 1831. His
parents, John W. and Emily (Taliaferro) Terry, were of English and Norman extrac-
tion, and their ancestors settled in America early in the sixteenth century. His father
was a farmer, and in-lS.35 became a resident of Alabama, locating upon a farm in the
vicinity of Pickensville. Ujion the death of his father, in 1841, the subject of this
sketch, was placed under, the guardianship of Colonel Robert T. Johnston, a most
worthy gentleman and accomplished scholar, and by him he was placed in the Univer-
sity of Alabama. The health of Mr. Terry, which had never been robust, so far failed
in 1848 as to make it necessary for him to quit the University and lead a more active
life. In 1850 he entered the law class in the University at Louisville, Ivy., and applied
himself to the study of law with great zeal, but again his progress was checked by ill
health, and he was forced to return home.
He was fortunate, however, in having an accomplished scholar for his guardian,
and under him he pursued his studies as assiduously as ill health would permit him to
do. Mr. Terry taught school during 1852, yet he continued to devote every leisure
moment to study. It is a pleasing sight to see a youth, in ill health and poverty, thus
eager to acquire knowledge.
In 1852 Mr. Terry was licensed to practice law, but, under the advice of friends, he
prosecuted his legal studies for another year before opening an office.
He formed a partnership with R, T. Johnston, Esq., and opened an office in Car-
rollton in 1S53. In 1854 Chancellor Clark appointed Mr. Terry Register in Chancery
for Pickens, but he resigned this office during the following year, in order to devote
himself more entirely to his professional engagements.
In 1856 Mr. Terry was the whig candidate for the legislature in Pickens, but was
•defeated, mainly on account of the local issues introduced into the canvass.
In 1857 Mr. Terry formed a partnership with the Hon. Turner Reavis for Pickens
County, and applied himself with assiduity to his profession.
In 18U2 he entered the Confederate Army, as first lieutenant of an infantry com-
^€^^^->'
Biographical. 335
pany, and served in the field until 1S63, when he was honorably discharged on account
of ill health.
The termination of the war, in 1S65, found the South bankrupt and prostrate, and
many men were filled with utter despair. Mr. Terry was not of this number. He
went to work with industry and energy, at any business that promised to be remuner-
ative, and, in the fall of 1865, he resumed the practice of his profession in Carrollton.
Since that time he has enjoyed a lucrative and constantly-increasing practice, and ia
now blessed with a competent fortune and freedom from debt.
Mr. Terry's judgment is sound and discriminating ; his industry is considerable;
his power of attention is great ; his habits are moral ; his temper cheerful and equa-
ble, and his manners courteous and easy. Mr. Terry is a ready and elTective speaker,
courteous to the bench and bar, and free from the vicious habit of wantonly assailing
the character of adverse witnesses.
The benevolence of his nature, and the kindliness of his disposition, are traits for
■which he is honorably distinguished. But he is benevolent and kind from principle
and a sense of duty, rather than from love of notoriety or mere personal attachment;
he feels that it is his duty as a Christian to do all the good that lies in his power, and
his kindness is as a steady running stream. There can be uo impropriety in mentioning
a remark which he made last summer, while traveling with a friend to Fayette Court-
house : " When I come to die, I wish people to say, ' a good man has been snatched from
among us ' ; I had rather be a good than a great man. I often examine myself to see if
I have not failed, in some respect, to do all the good in my power to my fellow men."
The man who is habitually guided by such feelings is not apt to miss the benedictions
of his fellow men.
Colonel Terry was always regarded by his brother lawyers as possessed of a strong,
vigorous, and discriminating legal mind, ranking among the best lawyers of the State
of Alabama. His form of speech was unusually clear and forcible, and in every law
suit in which he took part, or consultation in which he was engaged, he carried with
Mm the kindly feelings of his adversaries, and the warm approbation of his associates
and clients.
His life has been one of great success, as the result of honorable methods and hard
work, and his retirement from his profession, while yet a vigorous man, is well becom-
ing a career so laudable. Beloved by his brethren in the profession, honored and
respected by all citizens among whom he ever lived, and surrounded by a happy fam-
ily and prosperous children, his wealth enables him to live in ease, and at the same
time extend a generous and charitable hand to objects he thinks deserving. There are
iew men in Alabama who are more interesting in conversation then Colonel Terry.
His memory of past events is accurate and grasping, and with his conversation he has
the happy faculty of entering into each detail with a zest and dignity, withal, scarcely
possessed by even the most brilliant conversationalists. Had Colonel Terry sought the
field of politics, he would have reached any goal his ambition might have named.
Colonel Terry became a resident of Birmingham in January, 1873, and engaged in
the practice of his profession, which he earnestly and vigorously prosecuted until his
retirement in 1885. Soon after coming to this city he was appointed city attorney,
serving one year, during which term of service he originated the plan now known as
the Powell School System, and raised a subscription of two thousand dollars for its
inauguration, being himself the first and largest individual subscriber. He was also
Superintendent of Education.
To Colonel Terry, for two years, more than any other one citizen, the people are
indebted for the building and establishment of the first public school.
336 Jefferson County.
He was united in marriage in March, 1858, with Miss Elizabeth Kerr, daughter of
William Kerr, of Sumter County, Alabama.
During the cholera epidemic, in 1873, Colonel Terry stood bravely at his post, was
prostrated by that dread scourge, and lost his faithful and devoted wife, who died
July 14, 1873, leaving six children.
Mr. Terry was united to his second wife in June, 1874. Her maiden name was
Mary E. Taylor.
Mr. Terry is a member of the M. E. Church, South, and was for many years superin-
tendent of a Sunday school of that church.
(Wr^v-^TsAnv Oeo-ar I-ar\<r> was born in Macon County, Alabama, October
|iiexa9a(^r usear i^ape 09, ^^^^_ ^^ ^^^^5^,^^ ^ j^j^^^^i academic and
collegiate education, and immediately upon completion of his course of study,
in 1868, he was called into service as principal of a high school for boys, at
Clayton, Alabama. In the meantime, Mr. Lane studied law under Hon. John A.
Foster, now Chancellor of the Southern Division of Alabama. He was admitted to
the bar in November, 1809, and was highly complimented by Chancellor McCraw, be-
fore whom the examination was conducted, and in whose court he was admitted. The
young lawyer " hung his shingle " at Ozark, Ala., and began in earnest the labors of
his profession. Just after his dehut as a dLsciple of Blackstone occurred the birth of
Birmingham, and with characteristic wisdom and foresight the young lawyer at Ozark
saw the grand possibilities of this coming city, and determined to cast his lot with her.
In the Spring of 1873 he open a law otlice in Birmingham. In 1874 he became the law
partner of Col. John T. Terry, who was not slow to find that there was "something in
the vigorous young man." The firm of Teriy & Lane did a lucrative practice till 1885,
when Col. Terry retired, and Mr. Lane formed a partnership with Col. E. T. Taliaferro,
under the firm name of Lane & Taliaferro. This firm enjoyed a large and growing
practice, and in March, 1886, received B. H. Tabor, Esq., into the firm. Lane, Talia-
ferro & Tabor continued together until January, 1887, when, by mutual agreement, the
copartnership was dissolved.
In 1880 Mr. Lane became editor of the Iron Age, and led a most vigorous campaign
in behalf of Democracy. His editorials, being noted for their boldness and .strength,
won for him a State reputation during his brief journalistic career. While he had
always been an ardent Democrat, he never had asked office, preferring to work with
the rank and file.
In 1882 Mr. Lane was urged to run for mayor of Birmingham. He became a can-
didate, and in a heated contest won the fight, lacking only sixteen votes of a majority
over all three of his competitors. He entered upon the duties of the office in Decem-
ber, 1882. The new executive at once saw that he had work before him. The city
was growing rapidly, and its municipal government was of \ast importance. He was
not slow to find that changes were needed, and he at once formulated apian, or platform,
Sind put it in execution, and the result was a new era in Birmingham's life. So satis-
factory was his first two years' administration, that in 1884, when his name was placed
for re-election, he achieved the victory over a popular opponent by an overwhelming
majority, many of his bitterest opponents in the former campaign being his most
ardent supporters in the latter contest. In 1886 he was petitioned by a large number
of voters and taxpayers, white and colored, to allow the use of his name for a third
term, and, in a contest with a popular gentleman, won by a majority greater than his
opponent's entire vote. Mayor Lane's whole administration has been marked by the
spirit of progress. His course has been wise, just, and entirely successful. His most
Biographical. 337
excellent executive ability, his nipid manner of dispatching business, his dignified
bearing and fluency as a speaker, and his impartiality as a judge, combined with his
good business sense, mark him as a leader, and his services will be sought for as long
as he has strength of body to respond.
In 188+, to his surprise, Mr. Lane was elected president of the Sixth District Con-
gressional Convention, and made a happy extempore, speech, that won the admiration of
his audience. In 1885 he was made temporary president of the Kiver and Harbor
Convention at Tuscaloosa, and his address on that occasion met with an ovation,
and received the most flattering comments of the press.
Besides the labors of the mayor's office, and the extensive law practice of his firm,
Mr. Lane is president of the Smithfleld Land Company, a director of the Alabama
State Bank, also of the Iron and Oak Insurance Company. By his vigorous activity
and splendid financial ability, Mr. Lane has accumulated a competency, and enjoys the
luxury of a beautiful home, surrounded by all the comforts of life, and a wife and
children to whom he is fondly attached.
Mr. Lane's administration of the city's affairs has been free from jobbery. While
he enjoys the warm friendship of a great number of men high in position, no man can
claim to possess the power of persuading him against a strict line of duty to his
people, as he understands that duty. He is a friend to his friends, and uncompromis-
ing toward his enemies ; firm, but generous ; dignified, but not arrogant. If he is at
all a politician, his policy is that of a strict constructionist of the law of right ; and on
this line he will win. He is a good judge of men, and can not be easil}' deceived. Be-
fore his power sits the poor with equal safety as the rich, for he knows no difTerence
of men in his judgments. In point of charity and benevolence, he is ever ready to
respond, and in him the poor have found a friend indeed.
If there is one trait of Mr. Lane's character more prominent than any other, it is
decision — that quality of the mind which, under given circumstances, acts with a math-
ematical precision. With him to act is instantaneous with resolve. He precedes the
march of events, and seems to foresee results in the chrysalis of their causes, and to
seize that moment for exertion which others use in deliberation. Yet his actions are
based on a well-ascertained and generous condition — the concomitants of which are a
well-disciplined intellect, strong character, persuasiveness, tranquility, and cheerfulness.
There is no greater genius than the genius of energy and industry, and the sub-
ject of this sketch possesses this quality in an eminent degree. The men who have
most powerfully influenced the world are men of this class — those of strong convic-
tions and enduring capacity for work, impelled by irresistible energy and invincible
determination. " Energy of will, self-originating force," says a writer, "is the soul of
every great character. Where it is, there is life ; where it is not, there is fainting,
helplessness, and despondency." And another — "The intellect is but the half of a
man; the will is the driving wheel, the spring of motive power."
Mr. Lane's dignity ie not a spirit of cold hauteur and pride, but an outward walk
and conversation which become one who has a just appreciation of life and its possi-
bilities—a dignity which exists independent of " studied gestures or well-practiced
smiles."
Young, active, full of health, vigor, and worthy ambition, the future is full of
promise to him, and by whichever path duty may call him. A, O. Lane is a man of
destiny. By F. V. Evans.
338 Jefferson County.
P T T-jIi-i-frtf-rn Prominent among the noted lawyers of this State etanda
1*1 J N ■ the subject of this sketch, who is a descendant of some of
the oldest families of Virginia. His ancestors are traced in the history of that colony
as fai- back as 1774. They were patriots, and participated in the struggle for independ-
ence, and subsequently some of them were engaged in the war of 1812.
His parents, Dr. Edwin T., born in King William County, Virginia, and Jane B.
(Pope) Taliaferro, born in Henry County, Tennessee, resided at the time of his birth
at Paris, Tennessee, where, for over twenty-five years, his father practiced his profes-
sion. In 1866 he removed with his family to Madison County, Alabama, where he
continued his profession. He is an esteemed physician and citizen, and represented that
county in the State legislature during the session of 1884-85. The mother of our sub-
ject died in 1873. She was the mother of five children, three of whom are now living,
and all residents of Alabama.
Colonel Taliaferro was born in Paris, Henry County, Tennessee, in 1849, and
received a common school education, supplemented by a course of study for two years
at Manchester College, Tennessee. He began the study of law in 1868 in the office of
John C. Brown, of Pulaski, Tennessee, who was twice Governor of the State, remain-
ing under his tutelage for two years, teaching school in the meantime, which occupa-
tion he followed for over one year after leaving the office of his preceptor. He was
admitted to the bar at Pulaski in January, 1871, and immediately began practice there,
continuing until January, 1883, during which period he was associated with Major B. F.
Matthews, and again with John T. Allen, both natives of Tennessee.
Colonel Taliaferro rose rapidly in his profession, and was a prominent factor in the
political affairs of the State. He was elected to the State legislature in 1876 by the
largest Democratic majority ever cast in his county, and was elected speaker of the
house, being one of the youngest members of that body. He made great character as
a presiding officer, as will be readily attested by all Tennesseans. During his term of
oflBce there was a regular and three extra sessions of the legislature, and excitement
ran high on the question of the State's indebtedness ; and, although he was with the
minority in the house, yet, in all four of the sessions, never for a single time were his
rulings overruled, and seldom appealed from, by the house.
In 1878 he was elected permanent president of the judicial convention called to
nominate five supreme court judges. General William A. Quarles, of Clarksville, being
temporary chairman. This was the largest and perhaps the ablest convention ever
assembled in that State, being composed almost entirely of attorneys. During his term
in the legislature the State debt of Tennessee was first agitated. Colonel Taliaferro
took strong grounds for State credit, which he warmly maintained, with the approval
of his constituents.
In 1880 he was an elector on the Hancock and English Presidential ticket, and, at
the close of that campaign, abandoned political life, to devote his entire attention to
his profession. In 1881 he was employed, as one of twelve of the leading lawyers from
different sections of the State, to file a bill in the chancery court of Nashville to have
declared unconstitutional a bill passed by the legislature to settle the debt of the State
with 3 per cent, bonds, the debt amounting to .l!27, 500,000 at that time. Upon appeal
to the supreme court Colonel Taliaferro was chosen as one of the counsel to argue the
case, orally and by printed brief, and they carried the appeal to victory.
In January, 1S83, he sought a larger field for the practice of law, and removed to
Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he was in practice two years, all of that period in con-
nection with B. H. Tabor. In Arkansas, as well as elsewhere, he took foremost rank
!?- lyZaWilliam^&Bro
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Biographical. 34 1
among lawyers, and was engaged in nearly every important case at Fort Smith, while
living there.
In 1884 Birmingham commenced to attract and command the attention of the entire
United States as a mining, manufacturing, railroad, and corporate center. Colonel
Taliaferro foresaw the great future of the city, and the advantages it offered in the
practice of law. Having a strong desire to practice more specially that branch of his
profession relating to corporations, he came to Birmingham in September, 1883, pros-
pecting, and at once saw the immense resources of Birmingham and vicinity, and its
extraordinary inducements in his profession, and determined at once to make it hia
home.
Colonel Taliaferro became a citizen of Birmingham in January, 1885, and has from
that date been a power in what is now termed the most able and brilliant bar in Ala-
bama. In December, 1885, he was employed to return to his old home in Tennessee
as leading counsel in one of the most important and exciting cases ever tried in that
section, the celebrated "Jones case." Of his efforts in that case we copy a single
extract from the Pulaski Citizen, of date December 3, 1885:
" Hon. E. T. Taliaferro's speech yesterday in the Jones case was a great and bril-
liant eft'ort of an able man. The court room was crowded to suffocation. The interest
with which it was awaited and listened to, and the high opinions expressed of it since
its delivery, must be peculiarly gratifying to him. His first appearance for several
years before his old clients, constituents, and friends, was an ovation, and an expres-
sion of regard and trust that should urge him to even nobler efforts and purposes in
his profession."
Colonel Taliaferro in person presents a striking figure. Over six feet tall, erect aa
an Indian, and with a high, intellectual cast of features, he commands attention at a
glance. His legal attainments are of an excellent order. Added to them are great
oratorical powers, and superior mental attributes. He is ever dignified, but, withal, one
of the most gentlemanly and genial of men ; is ever generous to assist the needy, and
ever ready to do what is in his power to advance progressive civilization. He is the
attorney for the Alabama National Bank, the Sloss Furnace Company, the Birmingham
Iron Works, and other large corporations, and has large real estate interests.
Colonel Taliaferro has been connected, aa counsel, with some of the most import-
ant cases in Jefferson County. His first legal experience in the State was in 1877-78,
in the federal court at Huntsville, when he defended some prominent citizens of Ten-
nessee upon a charge of counterfeiting, and after two trials of five weeks each, suc-
ceeded in securing an acquittal. Associated with him was John B. Walker, ex-Governor
David P. Lewis, ex-Governor John C. Brown, General JosepTi Wheeler, William M.
Lowe, ex-United States Senator Luke Prior, Hon. David E. Shelby, Governor E. O.
Nsal, and others. Four of them were allowed to argue the defense, and Colonel Talia-
ferro was one of tlie number.
Colonel Taliaferro is a Knight Templar.
He was united in marriage October 13, 1874, with Miss Eva, daughter of Colonel
J. W. Sloss, of Birmingham. Four children have been born to them, two of whom are
living — Edwin T. and Mary.
34^ Jefferson County.
U/illiam meCinn Brooks. ;A'' Alabama roads lead to Birmingham/-
' ' ' ' » The most distinguished acquisition to the
legal profession resident in the city has been recently announced in the arrival of
Judge Brooks. No lawyer now living, or who has ever lived, in this State, is better or
more honorably known at its supreme court bar than he.
There is no one branch of the legal practice in which Judge Brooks has not
acquired en\'iable fame. His mental equipoise, his profound study, his power of argu-
ment, his sound observation, and his personal force, qualify him to take up cases of the
greatest magnitude in every branch of the profession, and to stand in all the peer of the
foremost counselor before the bar of judgment. He is a great lawyer in civil practice,
because he has mastered the philosophy of the law in its widest ranges and its pro-
foundest intricacies. He is a great criminal lawyer, because, added to the most thor-
ough comprehension of the spirit andintentof criminal laws, he is in ardent sympathy
with the society in which he lives, a man of the people, and a judge of the motives of
classes of people and of individual men, par excelknce.
Judge Brooks probably never wrote a rhyme among the millions of lines he has
written touching every phase of public and private rights and social reform. The great
theme of life has been his studv for full half century. He has given utterance to opin-
ions matured amid the gravest problems of politics and society. No thinker with less
ardent sympathy with the life of the whole people around him could so successfully
have commanded attention and approbation and fame.
William M. Brooks was born in 181.5, in Sumter District, South Carolina. He came
of Virginia stock, who had espoused the cause of the colonies in the war for American
Independence. The parents, AVilliam ^Jliddleton and Elizabeth Brooks, nee Watson,
both natives of Virginia, immigrated from that State to South Carolina, and then to
Alabama, in 18o3, and settled in the rich county of Marengo, for long one of the four
richest counties in the State. The father soon died, after reaching the Alabama home.
William M. was recalled from the South Carolina College at Columbia, then the most
aristocratic educational institution in theCotton States, to return to Alabama to assume
charge of his deceased father's estate, and to care for a large family — the widowed
mother and 6e.ven daughters. The youth proved equal to the emergency of his strange
situation. He found time to continue his literary studies and to read law as well. In
1838 he was licensed to practice, being then in his twenty-third year. He optned a
law office in Linden, the Marengo County seat, and became associated in the practice
with William Robinson, a wealthy cotton planter of the vicinage, who had lately moved
to Marengo from Charleston, South Carolina. Two years after entering the practice
Mr. Brooks was elected district solicitor. In this office he acquired high reputation.
Some cases of extraordinary importance were prosecuted by him, in which he encoun-
tered such lawyers as Murphy, John Erwin, Henley, F, S. Lyon, Manning, and others,
whose names adorn the record of the bench and bar of Alabama. Solicitor Brooks
prosecuted Gaines, a young man, for the murder of his stepfather, Curry, on the
streets of Linden. The ablest criminal lawyer then in the circuit, Murphy, of Eutaw,
w^s called in to oppose the solicitor. It was in this case that Murphy, in the course of
his address, became so impassioned and aroused by his theme that, stooping to the
floor, with his ear down, he listened to hear the mutterings of Curry's soul in Hades,
and told the jury what he had heard !
After six years of distinguished success as State prosecutor in the circuit, Mr.
Brooks resigned his office, and at once entered upon a general practice, which has
never been surpassed and seldom equaled in this State, in the essentials of great causes
Biographical. 343
stoutly fought, great principles incorporated in tin- niiiuuon law, ami riih [lecuniary
rewards to the practitioner.
In person, Judge Brooks is of medium height, well proportioned, with elastic and
easy carriage. A massive chin, clear, steel-gray eye, broad brows, always a clean shaven
face, and attire scrupulously neat, make the tout enscmhle of one of the most striking
personnels among all the lawyers at any of the courts of the State.
The status of Judge Brooks at the bar of Alabama is disclosed in the reports of the
supreme court cases, covering some forty-five years. His legal biography is there writ-
ten to endure forever. The reported cases, in which his name as counsel appears,
cover, as we have said, the whole range of the practice. The most decisive special cases
going to develop the constitutional protection of the rights of the people to the enjoy-
ment of life, liberty, and property, there appear. The briefs in these cases are all alike
in the evidence they expose of the legal force of the counsel. They are thorough state-
ments of each case in its bearing upon the science of law and upon the facts upon
which the cause 'entered the court. There is not a superfluous word injected, nor a
cognate theory of the law omitted. Whatever manuscript in the counsel's handwriting
may come up with the papers, is in bold, clear characters, the pages neatly folded, and
all the accompanying papers arranged with that method which a merchant's confiden-
tial clerk might be expected to practice. The clearness of the mental processes, the
vigor of the logic, the forcefulness of the language used, comprise the channels through
which the profound knowledge of the lawyer reaches the court.
As a jury lawyer Judge Brooks is powerful, impressive, and most successful. He
seems never to have learned any of the platitudes of the schools of rhetoric. The client is
his friend who has a just cause to be advocated, and the advocate is a part of that cause.
It has become a personal matter with him to explain its claims to the jury's undivided
and prompt consent. The words in which his thoughts flow are not chosen — they
belong naturally to the case. With vehemence and rapidity they flow on without halt
or stammer. The manner is the manner of the speaker absolutely absorbed by his sub-
ject. There is no posing for effect, and no thought that a moment will come when pos-
ing for effect will be in order. Nervous energy of manner, which comes from energy of
thought, expresses the oratory. This enthusiastic address may continue for a half hour,
or for three hours. The speaker begins where his subject begins, and ends where that
which he had to say is finished. Judge, jury, nor spectators believe that he has even
then said all that he might, if disposed to proceed with his argument.
Politics were the pastime of the educated Southern gentry in the old regime. The
plantation life of ease in the country, and the town life of regularity in all avocations,
marked the entire population. The changes in the seasons alone disturbed the current
of rural prosperity. In town, the lawyers had only great cases, to be heard in a few
regular courts, months apart, while the merchants bought goods in New York in spring
and autumn, and collected their o\\ n open accounts but once a year, at any time from
January 1 to March or April.
Politics agitated the entire educated class of whites, but, of course, never entered
the ranks of the blacks. Whosoever felt himself equal to a stump speech was certain
to experiment with his gift. Thus, among the whole number of experimenters, the
rule of the survival of the fittest was sure to take effect and rule the constituency. The
writer, then a mere lad, was moved to attend a great meeting of the people of Marengo
County at Linden. The question to be discussed was, "The Rights of the South in the
Territories."
The question was entangled in Mr. Clay's latest compromise, which repealed the
next previous compromise. There was very strong talk in South Carolina then about
344 Jefferson County.
"disrupting every tie that bound her to the Union." Mr. Calhoun was dead, and the
brunt of the secession movement fell upon the Charleston Mercury. A convention of
the State of Georgia, meanwhile, had deliberated on the situation, and decided to wait
forthe "next aggressive movement." Thereupon, South Carolinaresolved "to acquiesce
under existing circumstances." Pending all this, the Governor of Alabama, Collier,,
was roundly abused by pretty much everybody because he did not know exactly what
ought to be done with the Alabama militia, if the Federal army should be sent down
to South Carolina to take possession.
Of course, as naturally as water would seek its level, Mr. Brooks entered vigorously
into the discussion of all these great questions. He was a South Carolinian, and must
needs stand squarely up for his State in a trouble of that kind. The Linden meeting
filled the capacious courthouse to the utmost. The planters from all parts of the coun-
try were the audience. The county had long been well known as Whig, for Clay, and
the Union. The violent agitation of the slavery question in Congress had begun to tell
upon public sentiment. When the meeting organized, so precarious was the polit-
ical complexion that it elected F. S. Lyon, ex-member of Congress, and a conservative
Democrat, Chairman, and Joel C. DuBose, a Whig and Union man of much personal
popularity. Secretary. Discussion began, and a committee was appointed, with Andrew
P. Calhoun, son of the dead statesman, Chairman. The committee retired to a sepa-
rate room and deliberated until dark, and being composed of the friends of both polit-
ical views, could make no united report. Meanwhile, Mr. Alston, member of Congress,
and Mr. Shields, a very handsome man and able speaker, made long speeches to the
meeting. The Congressman was a Union Democrat, and compromise man. Mr. Shields
had been to Congress and been in the diplomatic service, and was a Union man.
Toward the close of this great day of discussion and excitement, the young lawyer, Mr.
Brooks, took the stand to speak. He at once arrested attention. Plaudits began,
shouts and hurrahs followed. The audience was growing wild with enthusiasm — at
least, that part which agreed with the orator. Impelled by their sympathy, he mounted
a chair, and then got firmly upon the judge's desk, above the heads of all, and plead
for South Carolina and "the rights of the South in the Territories." After Mr. Brooks
left his elevated position, and sufficient quiet had taken possession, a division of the
house showed the " Southern Rights " men to be in the majority. Mr. Brooks' speech
was the only pronounced argument of the day. The Democratic orators were com-
promise meu ; the Whigs were for waiting an " overt act " to assert the right of seces-
sion. Brooks had settled opinions upon current events, and spoke them out with no
uncertain sound.
The year following Mr. Brooks moved to Mobile, to a broader field for the exercise
of his talents. He entered there into copartnership with Mr. A. R. Manning, a law-
yer of high ability, and especially in the equity branch of the practice. Mr. Manning
afterward became a member of the Alabama Supreme Court. Mr. Brooks rose at
once to the front rank at the Mobile bar. The yellow-feyer scourge of 1853, unequaled
in virulence and duration, drove him from his new home. He then settled in Marion.
Previous to Mr. Brooks' removal to RIobile he had been a partner with William M.
Byrd, a famous equity lawyer, who afterward sat on the State Supreme Court Bench,
In the midst of a very lucrative practice at the courts of several of the richest
counties of the State, Mr. Brooks was appointed |by Governor John Anthony Winston,
the " Old Hickory of Alabama," to the circuit judgeship. In a few months he was
elected to a full term by the people, without opposition. He did not want the office,
but he wanted to study more of the books of his profession than he could do in active
practice, and accepted it, not altogether contentedly. In the period of Judge Brooks*'
Biographical. 345-
service on the bench, the celebrated case of the State versai Dorman was tried. The
decision fixed finally in Alabama the difference between the powers of the State Con-
stitution over the people, and the functions of the Federal Constitution.
In 1856 Mr. Brooks made many able political speeches before large audiences in
favor of Buchanan and Breckinridge. One of these addres.ses was delivered at a grand
protracted political meeting at Union Town. Among the orators was the famous Wil-
liam L. Yancey. It fell to Mr. Brooks' part to follow Mr. Yancey, and that he was able
to interest the audience, under the circumstances, is evidence that he had remarkable
capacity as a stump speaker.
Judge Brooks soon retired from the bench, and resumed his practice. It was at
this period that he formed a partnership with Mr. I. W. Garrott, of Marion. Mr. Gar-
rott, then Brigadier General in the Confederate Army, was killed in the siege of Vicks-
burg.
Judge Brooks had never sought political office. He did not desire office of any kind.
His political views, as pronounced at the Linden meeting of 1850, had been consistently
adhered to. He had quietly studied the questions involved, and on all proper occa-
sions discussed them fearlessly and ably before the people. He held his audiences as
long as he chose to speak. He was in no sense a demagogue. His addresses were
intended to enlighten public opinion, and they invariably had that effect. He was not:
of the mental or moral nature of a " compromise man."
When the Democrats, then virtually the people of Alabama, held their convention
in January, 1860, to appoint delegates to the forthcoming Charleston convention, called
to nominate a candidate of the party for the Presidency, Mr. Brooks was made one of
the delegates to Charleston, and withdrew from that convention with the Alabama del-
egation. He took a very active and influential part in the canvass for Breckinridge and
Lane in Alabama, delivering, among many other speeches, a very able one at Selma,
along with Judge S. F. Rice, John T. Morgan, C. C. Pegues, and others of the chief
speakers of that section of the State.
When the Alabama convention was called to formally secede from the Union, Judge
Brooks was honored with election to the presidency of that august assemblage. There
sat W. L. Yancey, John T. Morgan, John Cochran, E. C. Bullock, and scores of the
ablest men in the State.
During the war Judge Brooks was chairman of a committee to provide sustenance
for the support of the families of Confederate soldiers, non-slaveholders of the hill
country in the vicinage of Birmingham and Jefferson County. Toward the latter
months of the war he was appointed Colonel of a regiment of reserve troops. ^
In 1860 Judge Brooks moved to Selma, and at once became absorbed in a very v
heavy and lucrative practice, involving many questions arising in one phase of civil-
ization and relegated to another for adjustment. His profound study of the problems
brought forward has increased his fame as a lawyer.
Of late years Judge and Mrs. Brooks, in beautiful co-operation, have labored in the
cause of "prohibition."
Early in life Judge Brooks married Miss Terrell, a daughter of a Marengo County
cotton planter. William, Richard, and Ida — two sons and a daughter — were born to this y^
union. At the age of seventeen William entered the Confederate army, and rose to-
the rank of Captain.
The first wife having died. Judge Brooks married a very accomplished Virginia,
lady. Miss Annie E. Thomas.
After twenty years residence in Selma, Judge Brooks is now an esteemed resident
346 Jefferson Cojcnty.
of the city of Birmingham. Coming here, he took into copartnership with him John
Vary, a nephew, and a young lawyer of ahiiity and high promise. The tirm is now
Broolis, Bush & Vary.
Jan\OR F W;^tl/HnS present Solicitor for Jeflferson County, was born at Ely-
\ ■ / \ I ' ton, in the residence now owned and occupied by Dr. A.
Eubank, near the " Big Spring," April 10, 1851, the third son of Dr. Nathaniel Hawkins.
He comes from an ancestry, on both sides, of honest, sturdy, and industrious stock,
making no pretension to nor coveting any of the glitter and show of life, but resting
deservedly upon genuine worth. His grand father, Williamson Hawkins, was one of the
first white men to invade the forest of Jones Valley with his gun and axe, and share
its primitive fastnesses with the Indian, the bear, and the panther, having settled in
the valley from South Carolina, about where Woods Station or Woodlawn now is, in
the year 1813, soon afterward moving over to Village Creek, on what has, for three-
quarters of a century, been known as the Hawkins plantation, the property now
embracing Pratt Mines and the Thomas plant, where he lived until his death, in 1876,
leaving a large number of children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great
great grandchildren. Out of five sons, his third son, Nathaniel, alone showed any taste
or disposition for acquiring more than an ordinary education, and he became a ripe
scholar, and after his marriage, attended a medical college in New York, and made rep-
utation, during a long and useful life, as a physician of extraordinary judgment and
skill, and, dying in 1877, left his family comfortable in worldly goods and rich in the
heritage of a good name.
The wife of Dr. Nathaniel Hawkins was Miss Maria Welton, daughter of a farmer
in New England, whose familj- comprised the original proprietors of the towns of
Farmington, Mattatuck, Waterbury, and other New England colonial towns, all of
whom held, with sacred fidelity, to the articles signed in 1674. Miss Welton proved a
strong and congenial helpmate, with her energy, nerve, and fine accomplishments, to
her young Southern husband, and much of his success is justly accredited to her influ-
ence and ambition. She was practically the founder of the Episcopal Church in Jef-
ferson County, and, without a pastor or a joint communicant for forty years, held to
the faith and labored for her church until she lived to see a new generation grow up to
support her cherished cause as she declined down the hill of life. She died in 1883, at
the age of seventy-six years, at the old homestead at Elyton.
As all Southern fortunes were swept away by the war, the training young James'
father had given him as a farmer boy stood him in good turn now, for he and his
younger brothers took up the plow and finished out the rows, where the negroes had
left them when Wilson's raid stopped farming operations here in the spring of 1865.
For four years he continued to make a good hand, when needed, on the farm. In 1869
the University of Alabama was in the hands of a radical board, who were little better
than the vandals who destroyed the buildings. Mr. Hawkins therefore decided to
enter the University of the South at Sewanee, Tenn. He was the seventeenth student
who matriculated in that institution. He remained at college three years and finished
his course as then prepared there, but took no degrees, as the University had not then
arranged degrees. He was admitted to the bar before Judge Mudd, in September,
1872, after six months hard study in a law office. In November, of the same year, he
married Miss Tempe Fitts, of Tuscaloosa, and has since practiced law in this county.
He inherits, in a large degree, the combined virtues of his parents, having the activity,
push, sagacity, and ambition of the Yankee, and the courage, judgment, common
sense, and genial afiability of his paternal Southern ancestry. Unlike his relatives
6Ut^
tT^^-
Biographical. 349
here, he soon showed a decided taste for public lite, and his profession gave hiiu full
opportunities to cultivate this taste. He became at once prominent as a worker and
writer in the hard-fought political contests waged after he attained majority.
In December, 1874, he moved to Shelby County, to take a law partnership with
Senator John T. Morgan, who was then overloaded with practice in that county, and
just entering into politics. He remained there for only two years, the only period of
his life spent in residence outside of Jefferson County. While in Shelby County with
Mr. William McMath, now deceased, Mr. Hawkins founded and edited the Shelby
Sentinel, now owned and published by Mr. MeCall, at Calera, and did strong work
for the cause of good government and white supremacy in that part of the State.
After returning home, he bought an interest in the Jefl'erson Independent, and for
four years was the political editor of that influential paper. For some time he was
general guardian of the county, and resigned this position in 1881. In 1880 he was the
Democratic nominee for representative in the lower house of the legislature, and was
defeated, after a hot contest on the stump, by a majority of seven. Again, in 1SS2, he
was the Democratic candidate for representative, and defeated his former opponent,
and served for that term with great credit to himself and benefit to his constituents, being
on the judiciary committee, chairman of committee on mining and manufacturing,
and one of the leading debaters on the floor of the house. In December, 1880, he was
appointed assistant solicitor for this county, and served in that capacity for six years,
proving an able prosecuting officer. In December, 1884, he was elected by the legisla-
ture solicitor for Jeflferson County, and again re-elected to that office by the legislature
in December, 1886. He has a wife and six children, and is proud of his native country,
and enjoys its progress and prosperity. He had three brothers and two sisters. His
eldest brother. Captain Williamson M., was a brilliant young doctor, and gave up his
life for the Southern cau.se, being killed in the battle of Murfreesboro, while leading
his company in a charge.
His next oldest brother, Richard N., is also a doctor, and now living at Elyton,
while Hobart W., the youngest, is a successful and progressive farmer, and also lives at
Elyton. His eldest sister, Sarah, is the wife of French Nabers, and lives at Monte-
vallo. The other sister, Amy, who was the wife of Ellis Phelan, died at Birmingham,
in 1881.
Mr. Hawkins was one of the few native Jefferson County young men who appre-
ciated the grand advantages possessed by this county, and has kept apace with its
rapid progress, and enjoys the fruits of its development, and has been amply able to
hold his own with the splendid intellect and energy that has crowded his profession
from nearly every State of the Union. His high sense of justice, even-tempered judg-
ment, and firm discretion, backed by a thorough knowledge of law and long experi-
ence in criminal prosecution, makes him an officer that the courts and attorneys
respect and admire, and his genial humor, kind heart, and affable nature, has won
friends of all his county people, and very many throughout the State.
Jnhn rn^Rnn rHarUn Representative from the Sixth Congressional Dis-
*-"/'/ /'l«^0^7 /H«l'»-"/» trict of Alabama, is a descendant of distinguished
ancestors. His father's lineage traces to the Huguenots, who sought America
before the llevolution. They became settlers of South Carolina, and subse-
quently removed to Virginia, but his father was born in Tennessee. His mother was
a member of the historic Mason family of Virginia, and cousin of John Y. Mason, who
descended from Colonel John Mason, a British subject, and soldier in the army of
Charles I. l'jK)n the execution of that monarch, Colonel Jfason fled to America, and
35° Jefferson County.
from him descended the Mason family, one of the most celebrated in Virginia. Joshua
Lanier Martin, the father of our subject, was a stalwart figure in the history of Ala-
bama. Born in Blount County, Tennessee, December 5, 1799, and receiving but a plain
English education, by native and inherent attributes he rose to become the Governor
of a great State, and only his untimely death, in the full meridian of life and useful-
ness, prevented him from achieving still greater honors. Joshua L. Martin began the
study of law in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where he was licensed, and in 1819
came to Alabama, and finished his law studies with his brother in Franklin County.
He began practice in Athens, in Limestone County, where he continued until 1839,
when he removed to Tuscaloosa, where he continued in active life until his death.
Governor Martin's political life began in 1822, when he was chosen to represent
his district in the State legislature, where he was continued until 1827, excepting the
session of 1826.
In 1829 he was elected solicitor of the (then) fourth judicial circuit, and subse-
quently judge of the circuit court.
In 1835 he was elected to C!ongress, and re-elected in 1837. In 1841 he was chosen
one of the State chancellors, and in 1845 elected Governor of the State, serving one
term. In 1853 he was elected to the lower house for the purpose of aiding legislation
in securing the passage of the charter for the Alabama Great Southern Railroad Com-
pany. This was his last appearance in public life, as he died in 1856, deeply deplored
throughout the State. Seldom, in the history of a public man, have honors been thrust
BO quickly upon him, and seldom, indeed, have they been so fairly and honorably
administered.
Governor Martin was never defeated for a public office, owing his success to the
unfaltering devotion of the young men of the State, whom he endeared to him by the
great kindness of his heart, and the great interest he ever displayed for their material
progress and advancement. He was twice married, each time to a sister of Hon. Wil-
liam J. Mason, and left four sons.
John Mason Martin was born January 20, 1837, and received the best education
the schools of the country aflbrded. He entered the State University, and was a stu-
dent there for over two years. Resigning, he was admitted to Centre College, Danville,
Ky., and was graduated from that institution in 1856. Deciding upon the profession of
law, he became a student under Hon. E. W. Peck, who was subsequently chief justice
of the State, and in August, 1858, was admitted to practice by the supreme court.
Commencing practice in Tuscaloosa, he continued until April, 1861, when he
enlisted in the first company organized there, and was assigned to the Fifth Alabama
Infantry. He remained with that regiment for over one year, when, on account of
disability, he was discharged. Unwilling to remain out of the service, he accepted an
appointment as captainandassistant quartermaster of the Forty-first Alabama Infantry,
remaining with that regiment for a period of twenty months. His health unfitting him
for the duties of that position, he was transferred to Montgomery, and appointed post
quartermaster. In this important position his genius for business asserted itself, and
with one auditor and twelve chief clerks he dispatched the business which had pre-
viously demanded the services of a number of officers. He found the office in disorder,
and the service being inefficiently administered, but in a short period he brought order
from chaos, and until the clo.se of the war conducted the business of this important
branch of the service in a masterly manner. In this position he was called upon to
collect, manufacture, receive, and ship the stores, clothing, and all supplies for a large
army, having also in charge the Alabama penitentiary, which he had converted into a
Biographical. 351
manufactory for army supplies, having in charge never less than 400 men. That his
work was well performed the records well attest.
Finding liimself at the close of the war in destitute circumstances, he entered pro-
fessional life with great ardor, but was soon prostrated by paralysis. Upon regaining
health he entered political life, and in August, 1871, was elected State Senator to fill a
vacancy, and, in 1872, was chosen for a full term. During the five years of this service
he was for three years the president p^o tempore of that body. Refusing re-election he
prosecuted vigorously his profession for eight years.
In 1875 he was elected professor of equity jurisprudence in the State University,
and at the same time the board of trustees, at the request of the faculty, graduated
him with the degree of A.M., and directed that his name should be enrolled with his
original class.
In 1884, yielding to the wishes of the Democracy of his district, he was nominated
and elected to the Forty-ninth Congress. In the first session of his service he was a mem-
ber of the committees of elections and patents, and was one of the six Democrats who
voted against the consideration of the " Morrison tariff bill." This act giving ofiense
to the agricultural portion of his district,, he was defeated for renomination, to the great
regret of a large class, who admired his devotion to principle, his superior ability, and
the thorough business methods with which he dispatched the laborious duties of this
•important position. It is deeply to be dejjlored that Captain Martin should be retired
at the period when Alabama, just starting upon an era of prosperity, needs in the Con-
gress of the United States men whose grasi> of thought is equal to the debate of the great
problems of the day. Suffice it to say, that in the brief period of his service he is
lecognized as one of the leaders of his party.
September 11, 1886, Captain Martin formed an association with Captain A. B.
McEachin, of Tuscaloosa, and in October, 1886, they removed to Birmingham, where
they are now in practice.
It is wonderful, considering his delicate physical organization, that he has contin-
ued so long in active life. Never po.ssessing good health, it is only an indomitable
will, and a resolution to do or die, has enabled him to accomplish the amount of labor
which he has accomplished. An able lawyer and a thorough business man, and pos-
eessing the varied experiences of a busy professional and political life, he will always
be a prominent factor in the history of Alabama, and add much to the bench and bar
of JefTerson County.
He was married November 24, 1857, to Miss Lucy C. Peck, daughter of his pre-
ceptor, Hon. E. W. Peck, of Tuscaloosa. To them have been born nine children, four
of whom are now living — AVolsey R., a lawyer of Fort Smith, Arkansas ; Lucy G. A.,
Sarah M., and Lydia P.
Captain Martin is a member of the Knights of Honor, Knights of Pythias, and a
Knight Templar.
RobSrt HCDrV StSrrStt P'""""'"^"'' among the lawyers of Jefferson
V / ' / * County, and the present representative of the
county in the State senate, is the gentleman whose biography follows. He is a native
of the State, born in Shelby County April 22d, 1846. His ancestors were all emigrants
from the British Isles, and settled in the " Old Dominion " State during the early colo-
nial period. His paternal grandfather and wife emigrated from Virginia, where he waa
born, and settled near Bowling Green, Ky., subsequently removing to Alabama, where
they resided until their death, near Montevallo.
The father of Mr. Sterrett, Alphonso A. Sterrett, wae born in Kentucky, and came,
35-2 Jejfersoii County.
wlien a youth, ti) Alabama, where he rewded until bis deatli in l^T(i. He occupied a
I'onspicuous place in the history of the State. He was a law student under Chancellor
Clark, admitted to the bar in 1831, and before the age of 22 was elected Judge of Shelby
County Court. He was thrice a representative in the legislature, and also a member of
the convention which framed the present State constitution. He was twice married.
The mother of Robert Henry was a native of South Carolina — her maiden name was
Elizabeth M. Gooch. She died in 1849. Her ancestry is traced to Scotland, subse-
quently to Virginia, and thence to the Carolinas. Her father, Henry Gooch, came to
Alabama in 1822, where he remained until his death, which occurredin Shelby County.
Some portions of the following sketch are from an article which appeared in the
New South :
" Robert H. Sterrett entered the University of Alabama as a cadet, remaining until
July, 1864, when he was commissioned as a lieutenant in Company C, 62d Regiment
Alabama Volunteers, C. S. A. As a Confederate soldier he actively participated in the
defense of Spanish Fort and Blakely, near the city of Mobile, where he was captured
and imi^risoned, first on Ship Island and afterward in New Orleans. On his liberation,
in 186.5, he returned home, and, finding his favorite university closed on account of the
destruction of its buildings by the Federal troops, he at once set out in search of an
educatinn. He first applied for admisssion to the University of North Carolina, but,
finding the term near its close, concluded to return home. On his way he found the
University of Georgia just opening, and January 1, 1866, he entered that institution
and remained until the close of the .session. In October, 1866, lie entered the Univer-
sity of Virginia, taking a special classical and literary course, and remained in that
famous school until June, 1807. Returning home, he entered the law office of his
father. Judge A. A. Sterrett, under whose valuable instruction he remained one year;
then entering the law school of Lebanon University, Tennessee, he graduated with
high honor in June, 1869. Commencing the practice of his profession in Selma, Ala-
bama, he rapidly grew in public and profe.ssional reputation, and remained in that city
for ten vears, during which time he labored zealou.sly in erecting the beautiful monu-
ment to the memory of the Confederate soldiers, and in freeing his beloved State from
the misrule of the adventurers, who, with the aid of ignorant negroes, had seized upon
its government. His ability and earnestness contributed largely to the election of the
lamented Houston, in 1S74, as Governor of the State, and to the adoption of the present
constitution in 1875. In September, 1879, he removed to Birmingham, where he now
resides, and where he has, solely on his own merits, built up a lucrative and extensive
practice. For several years he was superintendent of the Sabbath school connected
with the First Baptist Church of Birmini;ham, and also one of the trustees and
deacons of the same church. At present he is one of the officers of the Baptist
church on the South Side, in Birmingham, and chairman of the committee raised by
the Baptist State convention, looking to the location of a Baptist college at Birmingham
or some other desirable point in Alabama. In 1884, the people of the Thirteenth Sena-
torial District, recognizing his peculiar fitness for the position, elected him to the State
senate. At the last session of the legislature, his superb qualities as a lawyer and legis-
lator shone conspicuously in the passage of many measures of vital interest to his dis-
trict and his State. The bill prohibiting the employment of convicts in the mines, or
on railroads, except in cases involving moral turpitude, the bill for improving the mode
of summoning juries, the bill permitting employes to sue and recover damages for inju-
ries inflicted by employers the same as other persons, the bill repealing the levy of
two per cent, tax on capital, the bill creating the city court of Birmingham, and one,
requiring the public roads of Jeflerson County to be worked by contract, the joint mem-
Biographical. 353
orial to Congress asking for Federal aid to education on the basis of illiteracy, and that
aid so granted be disbursed by the State authorities. All these important measures
were actively and earnestly pressed by Mr. Sterrett. He also labored earnestly to secure
the passage of the bill, introduced by himself, to secure better accommodations for pas-
sengers at the railroad depots in Alabama, and was largely instrumental in the defeat
of the bill conferring extraordinary powers on the railroad commission. He also favored
and passed, through the senate, the bill requiring convicts to be returned to their homes
before their term of service expired, the bill extending street railways beyond the
limits of towns and cities, the bills greatly changing the laws of descent and of mar-
ried women, the criminal court of Jefferson County, the State school of technology, and
a number of other measures looking to the interest of his city, county, and State."
While in the senate, Mr. Sterrett served on the following committees: Judiciary,
internal improvements — of which he was chairman, revision of the journal, and priv-
ileges and^jlections. He also served upon several important joint committees of con-
ference of the two houses.
Mr. Sterrett was married in 1878 to Miss Carrie Bell Cleveland, of Selma, a daughter
of Morgan S. Cleveland, who was a prominent citizen there. They are the parents of
two children — William C. and Roberta. He lives very comfortably in his own house
in Birmingham, and has prospered here.
" The life of Robert H Sterrett has been most marked in respect to its activity and
usefulness. He is one of those rare cliaracters of whom it can be justly said: 'The
world is better for bis having lived in it.' Possessing rare mental endowments, a power
of analysis and perceptions of the keenest character, he rarely, if ever, makes mistakes,
either in men or measures. As a worker, he is indefatigable ; as a debater, wonder-
fully clear and forcible, and being scrupulously fair and unwaveringly honest, he has
attained to a position, in the public estimation, second to none of his age in this great
State. His character, for purity and personal goodness, coupled with his singular fit-
ness for positions of responsibility, will make him a prominent figure in his State for
many years to come. While he has no taste for a political career, and would far rather
devote himself exclusively to his profession, yet his stern sense of the duties of Ameri-
can citizenship will not permit him to decline public service when the people shall, in
the future, as they have in the past, require it of him."
JamOK I C '?^TroV^ was born in North Carolina, in 1837. His father, a native
' '\ J' ^ North Carolinian, was of Scotch-Irish and English extrac-
tion. His mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Sasnette, was of French descent,
and also a native of North Carolina. They were married in that State, and emigrated
to Alabama about the year 1838. They lived for a time in Sumter County, subse-
quently in Pickens, and finally in Greene County, where they resided until their
deaths. His mother died in 1875, and his father the following year. His father was a
mechanic and farmer.
There were twelve children in the family, he being the fifth. Seven of this num-
ber attained their majority, of whom five are still living. Their places of residence
are: Mrs. Eliza Johnson, Carrollton, Mississippi; Mrs. Bettie Latimer, Greensboro,.
Alabama ; Jes.se L., Springviile Alabama ; W. C. Garrett, now special examiner of the
Pension Bureau, of the Department of the Interior, with oflBceat Nashville, Tennessee.
The subject of this sketch was reared mostly in Greene County, Alabama, and
received his early educational advantages in Forkland, where his father lived, and sub-
sequently went to the University of Alabama, then among the most renowned institu-
tions of learning in the South. He graduated in the year 1856. In the same year he
20
554 Jefferso7i Co2i7ity.
began the study of law in the office of James D. Webb, of Greensboro, Alabama, \^ ho was
then one of the foremost lawyers of the State. He was admitted to the bar in 1857, and
began practice in Livingston, Sumter County, Alabama, and lived there until 1860, edit-
ing the Livingston Messenger during two years of the time. He entered the Confed-
erate Army as a private in Company G, 44th Alabama regiment, and remained with it
eighteen months, and was then appointed to a position in the Ordnance Department
of the Army of Northern Virginia as sergeant. He was in the struggle from the be-
ginning to the end, and was in nearly all the battles of the above army, and in many
of those of the Western army. After the battle of Sharpsburg he was in Law's brigade,
of Hood's division, Longstreet's corps, until early in 1865, when, after a competitive
examination, at Petersburg, he was commissioned in the artillery and ordnance, and.
ordered to duty at the headquarters of the Army of Northern Virginia. He passed
through all this bloodshed unharmed.
Shortly after the close of the war, he went to Greensboro, and resumed the practice
of his profession. He was engaged continually there for nearly fifteen years, and
thoroughly established himself as one of its most successful and ablest lawyers. His
reputation was not bounded by local lines, but extended throughout his portion of the
State, which had, during all this period, some of the brightest legal minds before the
Alabama bar. In the year 1880 he went to Gallatin, Tennessee, and remained there
one year. Early in 1882 he came to Birmingham, and was associated with the Hon.
Ellis Phelan, afterward Secretary of State under Gov. E. A. O'Neal, and upon the re-
moval of the latter to the State of Connecticut, formed a new copartnership with Oscar
W. Underwood, which still continues.
Reared in the political faith of the old Whig party, since the war Mr. Garrett has
always been an ardent supporter of the Democratic party, and has rendered that party
most valuable services. He has held no political position, as the demands of his prac-
tice engrossed most of his time, and has never been an office seeker. He is, how-
ever, one of those characters whom his political associates would delight to honor, and
his name has frequently been mentioned in connection with high official positions.
Mr. Garrett was married in 1875, to Miss Celia L. Walton, a native of Greene
County, Alabama, but at that time a resident of Gallatin, Tennessee. Both himself and
wife are members of the iL E. Church, South.
Since his residence in Birmingham, he has devoted himself exclusively to the prac-
tice of his profession, and has an experience highly gratifying. He is the legal counsel,
and a stockholder, in some of the staunchest corporations of Birmingham.
CHrtar C (Plarl^Cnn was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1848. His
N 5 ' "-^ ' lineage has been well known and respected since the
fifteenth century, and is of both English and Scotch origin. The parents of Edgar L.
were. Thomas B. and S. Caroline Clarkson, nee Heriot. They moved from Charleston
to Columbia, S. C, when their son Edgar was quite young, and lived there until just
before the close of the " War between the States," when their handsome residence
was destroyed at the capture and burning of Columbia, in February, 1865. After the
war they spent much time in Alabama, with their daughter, Mrs. Peter Brj'ce, at Tus-
caloosa, and, becoming attached to this State, by their request, they were buried at
Tuscaloosa.
Edgar L. Clarkson was living with his father's family during the last year of the
great war of 1861-65. Although only fifteen years old, he then enlisted as a private
.soldier of the Confederacy in Company K, 7th South Carolina Infantry. In this capac-
Biographical. 355
it)' he served as a soldier until the termination of the struggle. He was the youngest
of his parents' eight sons, who all served in tlie Confederate Army.
Three years later, Mr. Clarkson graduated as Valedictorian from the University of
South Carolina, taking the degree of A. B. The year following, he took a diploma in
the School of Civil and Military Engineering, from the same institution, and immedi-
ately thereafter came to Alaharaa to live.
In 1870 Mr. Clarkson entered upon the study of the law, under the instruction of
that accomplished jurist and most polished gentleman, H. M. Somerville, of Tusca-
loosa, who is now Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama. In 1871, he
was admitted to the bar. He then went to Mobile, and remained a few months in the
office of Hon. Thomas H. Herndon, afterward member of Congress from that district.
In 1872 he came to reside in Birmingham, as local law partner with his learned
instructor, Mr. Somerville. This copartnership terminated after three years dura-
tion, and then Mr. Clarkson formed a copartnership in the law with Ellis Phelan,
who later became Secretary of State for Alabama. In 1876 he was appointed to codify
the city ordinances of Birmingham. In January, 1885, he was appointed Register in
Chancery for JefTerson County, and in November, 1886, declined reappointment to
the same office.
Mr. Clarkson is a careful and learned lawyer, and devotes himself assiduously to
his profession. He is a student of social science, and has written and lectured on that
theme.
In 1875 Mr. Clarkson married Jliss Augusta, daughter of Col. John J. Jolly, of
Greene County, Ala., a soldier, lawyer, and statesman well known to Alabama history.
They have five children. Mr. Clarkson belongs to the Episcopal Church.
ll/illi^/n C ll/^rM is a native of Bibb County, Alabama, and was born April
V 5th, 1835. He is a son of David AVard, and his ancestral
history, on the paternal side, is an exceedingly interesting one. His father was a native
of Edgefield County, South Carolina. His father's father was a Virginian, of direct Eng-
lish descent, the subject's great grandfather condng over with a party of farmers, who
landed on Virginia soil about the year 1700. He subsequently went to the State of
South Carolina. The grandfather and great grandfather were both soldiers in the rev-
olutionary war, the latter losing his life, and the former an eye, and a great uncle
dying in the trenches at the siege of Savannah.
The maternal side of his history is no less interesting. The subject's mother was
a Georgian by birth, and her ancestry of Virginia origin, who, in turn, were of direct
English descendants. Some of them also figured in the revolutionary war for inde-
pendence. Her immediate ancestors immigrated to Georgia some time about the
beginning of the present century. Her maiden name was A. C. E. Carleton. The sub-
ject's father and mother were married iu Bibb County, Alabama, some time after their
immigration to the State, which runs back to an early period in its history. His
mother died in the year 1859, and his father survived her only one year. The latter
was a farmer of large means. There were twelve children in the family, several of
whom attained maturity.
The subject of this sketch was reared in Bibb County, and received his first school
training there. After attaining a sufticient age he entered the University of Alabama,
and graduated, as the first-honor man, in the class of 1858. This was no mean distinc-
tion. For three years after this he was professor of Pure Mathematics, Rhetoric, and
Logic, in Howard College, Marion, Alabama, one of the leading and best known insti-
tutions, noted for the high standard of education attained by its students.
356 Jefferso7i Cojinty.
In April, 1861, he entered tlie service of the Confederacy as a private in
Company G of the Fourth Alabama Infantry, and was in Lee's army of Northern
"Virginia. He was in the first battle of Manassas, and all the principal battles of Vir-
ginia up to tlie bloody engagement of Gettysburg, where he was wounded, in the
charge on Little Kound Top, made by General Hood. He was left on the field of battle
for six weeks because the condition of his wound would not permit his removal. Here
he endured all that is conceivable of suffering and hardship. He was exchanged, and
in the winter of 18()3-6-i was transferred to the Sixty-second Alabama Regiment, and
became Captain of Company A of that regiment. He remained with this regiment
until its capture at Blakely, and prior to this was wounded twice at Spanish Fort.
For some weeks he was a prisoner at Ship Island, where he was guarded by negro soldiers.
After the close of the war he returned home, and prepared himself for the bar by
private study. On being admitted he began the practice at Selma, Alabama, in 1866,
and has always been found, in this field of action, taking a prominent stand before the
people. He always took a prominent part in politics, except offering for office, and was
of the " Simon pure " democratic way of thinking. He stood by the people, and
labored earnestly for their interests in one of the darkest periods of the State's history —
we refer to the trying times of reconstruction. He did not hesitate to close his office,
and, at his own expense, traveled through several counties, speaking wherever a crowd
could be gathered to hear him. He was especially active in the political campaigns of
1874, 1876, and 1878. At one time he was a member of the city government of Selma,
and interested himself, to a great extent, in organizing the public schools of the city,
now one of the most admirable school systems of the State.
He was defeated for the Mayoralty of Selma in the election of 1877. While never
holding an office he has frequently acted as special judge, and is now judge in the
case of the mortgage bondholders against the Selma & New Orleans Railroad and Emi-
gration Association, and was at one time one of three judges of a special court of the
Supreme Court of the State, in the case of Baldwin, receiver, against the Liverpool and
London and Globe Insurance Company, and delivered an opinion in the case.
In December, 1885, he came to Birmingham and took up his residence, and
since then has devoted himself entirely to professional labors. He owns considerable
property here and elsewhere, and, among other things, is the possessor of one of the
handsomest houses, which is picturesquely situated on the South Highlands, in the city
of Birmingham.
He was married, in 1868, to Miss Alice Goodhue, a daughter of Professor A. B. Good-
hue, of Howard College, Marion, Alabama, in the month of February, 1868 His wife's
father is now a resident of Gadsden, Alabama. Captain Ward is the father of
four living children, whose names are Alice Lillian, Julia, May Carleton, and an
infant. Both the Captain and Mrs. Ward are members of the South Side Baptist
Church, of Birmingham. Thus, we have, in Captain Ward, the life of a citizen, well
rounded with the performance of high and honorable duties.
Dr>Kc>rh 0 /T\pfl(Hnr\/ ^ native of Jefferson County, Alabama, was born
I'^UDKI I. j-1. /m^j^aui y, October, 1845, and is the son of James and Nancy
T. McAdory. He lived on the farm until he was seventeen years of age, and then
entered the University of Tuscaloosa. He left the university in 1863 to enter the army,
enlisting as private in Company F, Seventh Alabama Cavalry, from which com-
mand he was transferred to Company H, Twenty-eighth Alabama, having been elected
second lieutenant in that command.
Biograpliical. 357
At the close of the war he entered the University of Mississippi, and graduated in
the law department, in 18(58, under the tutorship of L. Q. C. Lamar. He commenced
the practice of law at Elyton in the fall of 1868. Colonel Ellis Phelan was associated
with him in the practice three years.
In 1877 Mr. McAdory moved to Birmingham, and is now senior member of the firm
of McAdory & Gillespie. He served six years as justice of the peace in Jefi'erson County.
In December, 18G9, he was married to Miss Hattie E. Dupuy, the accomplished
daughter of Alfred and Julia Dupuy, of Jefferson County.
Our subject is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and, also, a
Free and Accepted Mason.
T:>KnQC Vf \A7Qhh '** ^ descemlant of Henry Y. Webb, one of the early jurists
JdrrjLu Li. YY LUU of Greene County. He was a native of North Carolina, and
represented Lincoln County in that State's legislature in 1817. He was appointed Ter-
ritorial Judge of Alabama in 1818, and settled in Perry County, but soon afterward
came to Greene. In 1819 he was elected judge of the circuit and supreme court, and
was holding the distinguished position at the time of his death, in 1823. His wife was
Eliza, a daughter of Hon. Daniel M. Forney, of Lincoln County, North Carolina, one of
the prominent families of that section. One of his sons, James Daniel Webb, also stood
in the front rank in his profession. He represented Greene County in the lower house
in 1843, and again in 1851. In 1860 he was one of the electors on the Bell Presidential
ticket, and made an active canvass. He entered the cause of the Confederacy with
zeal, and in 1862 he assisted to raise the Fifty-first Alabama Cavalry, of which he was
appointed lieutenant colonel, and subsequently had command of the regiment. While
at the head of the regiment, sent to guard the retreat of General Bragg's forces, at
Shelbyville, July 2, 1863, he was mortally wounded, taken prisoner, and died July 19,
after rendering gallant service.
His brother, Hon. William P. Webb, a prominent attorney of Greene, now the
oldest practicing member of that bar, is the father of James E. The mother of our subject
comes from old Virginia stock. Her maiden name was Martha Bell, a daughter of Captain
John Bell, who came from Jamestown, Va., to Greene County, Alabama, at an early date.
The parents of Mr. Webb married in Greensboro, Ala., in 1839 ; the mother died
in 1875. Seven children are now living — William H., an attorney, living in California,
where he has served as judge; Rev. F. B. Webb, a Presbyterian minister of Union
Springs, Ala.; Wirt Webb, a manufacturer; Mrs. Fannie Crawford, of Tuscaloosa;
Belle an<l Mattie.
James E. Webb was born in Greene County in 1840, and graduated, with the first
honor of his class, at the University of Alabama, in the year 1859. He began the
study of law in the office of his father, and sub.sequently with Thomas H. Herndon, of
Eutaw, finishing his legal studies in 1860.
He was one of the first to enter the Confederate service in 1861, and was in contin-
uous service for four years. He entered the Fifth Alabama Infantry as a private, serv-
ing in that capacity for one year, and was then promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and
detailed upon the staff of General R. E. Rhodes, and subsequently was promoted to the
rank of captain, and assigned' to duty upon the staff of General Stuart, as assistant
ordnance officer. After the death of Stuart he was transferred to the command of
General James Dearing, serving as captain of his staff until the fall of Petersburg. He
■was severely wounded at the battle of Bellfield, being shot through the neck. He,
however, afterward rejoined his command, and continued in the service until he saw
the final surrender at Appomattox.
;58 Jefferson Coujity.
Nothing iJaunteJ by the desolation following, he immediately counuenced his prac-
tice at Greensboro, Ala., where he became noted as a brilliant and successful member
of that bar. In 1885 he removed to Birmingham, having commenced in 1884 in that
city. Since removing to Birmingham, he has been in copartnership with John P. Till-
man, who is also a tine lawyer.
Jlr. Webb is dignified, but cordial, and has established a strong reputation in the
State. He has a large clientage, and is worthy of his distinguished ancestors.
Jlr. Webb has been twice married. In 18C6 he was united to Miss Zemula Cress-
well, a native of Alabama. She departed this life in May, 1874, leaving four children —
Louisa C, Mattie B., James E., Jr., and Zemula. His second wife was from Greens-
boro. Her maiden name was Lucilla Webb.
Jlr. Webb has long been a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is now one of
the elders of the First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham, Ala.
Jamoc rn \/pn Wnnco ^^^ native of Fayette County, Alabama; was born
"/ *\P \ V I \ ^\ in the year 1824, and is a son of Judge Jesse and Ann
Van Iloose. His father's ancestors were of Dutch extraction, and early settlers of New
York, prior to the Revolution, in which they were participants, the original name being
Van Hooscn. Descendants of this family removed to North Carolina, where the father
of our subject was born. In 1815 he removed to Franklin County, Alabama, where he
was a pioneer merchant, in connection with William B. Wilson, and was the first clerk of
the circuit court. They established a large and flourishing trade, among the early set-
tlers and Indians. In 1821 he became the second or third settler, in what is now Fay-
ette County, then part of Pickens, and resumed his mercantile operations. He was
soon forced into politics, and, in 1 820, was elected to the State Senate. He served nearly
two terms and then resigned. Elected judge of the county court he served until
Fayette was fully organized, when he also resigned that position, having a distaste for
politics. He was one of the original board of trustees to locate the University of Ala-
bama. Continuing business in Fayette County until 1841 he became a merchant of
Tuscaloosa, where he lived until his death, at Northport, in 1852. He married in 1822.
His wife's ancestors were early settlers of Virginia, belonging to the Eggleston,
Cary, and Archer families. She died in 1857, in Tuscaloosa. Two of their children are
now living — the subject of this sketch, aud Valentine C, a merchant of Birmingham.
James M. commenced the study of law, in 1847, with Judge E. W. Peck ; was
admitted to the bar in 1848, and immedi.itely thereafter formed an alliance with his
preceptor, which copartnership was not dissolved until 1854. He was alsoi associated
with Hon. E. W. Powell, in copartnership, continuing until Colonel Van Iloose became
a citizen of Birmingham, in 188-5.
He has never entered the devious paths of politics, but has achieved a high stand-
ing in his profession, and added not only luster to the bar of Jefferson County but
dignity, through personal attributes and high moral worth.
Colonel Van Hoose has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Susan Alex-
ander, of an old Virginia family. She died in 1864, leaving two children, both of
whom have attained prominent positions in professional and business life. The eldest,
George Wolsey, is an attorney, and is holding the office of Register in Chancery at Tus-
caloosa, and James Alexander, one of the best known business men of Birmingham.
The second mai-riage of Colonel Van Iloose occurred in 1870, with Mrs. Annie H.
Sorsby. Her maiden name was Hill, and she was a native of Greene County, Ala-
bama. Two children have been bora to this union, Susie and ilary Lee.
The family are members of the Episcopal Church.
o
^c^J^
BiograpJiical. 361
D U J^aKnr in a residence of less tlian one year in Birmingham, achieved a
' / * ' commanding position among the attornej'S of Jefferson County.
His parents, Aquila and Francis Tabor, nee Ware, were natives of Georgia, where
they resided until their marriage, and, in 18:56, immigrated to Lafayette County, Missis-
sippi, where they resided the remainder of their days. The father departed this life
in 1878, and the mother in 1881.
Our subject was the fourth of a family of seven children, and was reared upon
a farm, which was his father's occupation, and received limited early educational
advantages. Possessing an ambitious spirit, and endowed with high natural abilities,
he early decide'd ujion the profession of law, and, at the age of twenty, entered the
University of Georgia, located at Athens, and, in the fall of 1871, was admitted to the,
bar at AVater Valley, Jlississippi, where he established an extensive practice, which
extended also to Lafayette County. In 1878 he removed to Oxford, Lafayette
County, where he remained for three years, and then joined his brother, K. A. Tabor,
at Fort Smith, Arkansas, with whom he was associated for a period of one year, the
firm subsequently becoming Taliaferro, Tabor & Tabor. This alliance continued for
two years, when Colonel Taliaferro removed to Birmingham.
In the spring of 1886 ilr. Tabor decided, upon the solicitations of Colonel Talia-
ferro, to become a resident of the JIagic City, and thus was formed the lirm of Lane,
Taliaferro & Tabor, one of the strongest legal associations in Alabama.
Mr. Tabor labored assiduously and faithfully, devoting his entire attention to
the vast and increasing practice which was entrusted to them, and, in many of the
most important cases tried in the county, he took a leading part in conducting
them, and was foremost in the arguments, in which he ranks as one of the best
speakers in the country. As a criminal lawyer his rank is especially high.
Mr. Tabor is endowed with what may be termed a natural legal intellect. He
grasps quickly and accurately legal principles, and discriminates correctly. His mem-
ory is remarkable, retaining not only principles but the names of codes and books.
He is an untiring worker, and aggressive in any case he undertakes, from the smallest
to the greatest. He never looks upon the opposite side, and, determining to win,
never prepares for defeat. He is personally exceedingly agreeable and prepossessing ;
his form is tall, erect, and stalwart, denoting a magnificent constitution and perfect
health ; his nature is frank, genial, and generous ; his hand is as liberal as his heart is
sympathetic, and his popularity extends to all professions and classes.
Mr. Tabor has also interested himself in real estate transactions, in which he has
also been remarkably successful. He is one of the incorporators of the Smithfield
Land Company, and one of its officers. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
Jlr. Tabor was married October 9, 1875, to Bliss L. E. Oliver, of Eureka, Panola
County, Mississippi. Four children bless this union, Oliver K., Loise E., Bee, and
Edward.
Mr. and Mrs. Tabor are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
John D Tillman is an attorney at law, well and favorably known throughout
O'/V Y' 1 '""'*^V Alabama. He is a native of Perry County, Alabama, and was
born in 1849. His parents were John M. and Mary E. Tillman, nee Plummer, who
were natives of South and North Carolina, respectively.
Reared in Selma and Marion, in this i^tate, he received the benefits of good private
schools, and was also favored with the superior educational advantages of Howard Col-
lege, at Marion, and of the Univer.sity of Kentucky. Upon leaving the university, he
became a student in the law office of Pettus & Dawson, of Selma, and in June, 1871,
362 Jeffe7-so?i County.
was admitted to the practice, opening an otiice in Selma. In 1872 he became a partner
witli John White — this association continuing until January, 1S74, when he became the
junior partner of his old preceptors, under the firm name of Pettus, Dawson & Tillman.
He continued this alliance until January, 1881, when, by mutual consent, the partner-
ship was dissolved, and, in October of the same year, he became a partner of Joseph F.
Johnston, continuing with Mr. Johnston until January 1, 1883, when he removed to
Montgomery, and commenced reporting the decisions of the supreme court, in which
position he acquired an extensive acquaintance with the legal profession of the State,
and rendered efiicient service.
To enter upon a larger professional field he adopted Birmingham as his home in
October, 1884, and soon afterward the law firm of Webb & Tillman was formed, now
one of the most active and able in Jefferson County.
Mr. Tillman, while a resident of Selma, was a member of the city council, and for
two terms served as city attorney.
In 1885 he was appointed by Hon. R. C. Brickell as one of the two assistant com-
missioners to codify the laws of the State, according to the act of the legislature of
1884-85, and he labored assiduously and earnestly at this work until its completion in
November, 1866.
He is now in earnest and active practice in Birmingham.
Mr. Tillman was united in marriage in January, 1876, with Miss Sallie B., daughter
of II. H. Hurt, Esq., of Marion, Ala.
Td n-TQC \tJ cxzi \hor\\T ^^^ °' Birmingham's most progressive young men, was
danlLb W Ldlr|Ll l)^, born in Coweta County, Georgia, July 5, 1856.
His father, Dr. J. S. Weatherly, was a native of Marlborough District, South Caro-
lina His mother, nee Taliaferro, was a native Georgian, and, as the name signifies,
was connected with one of the most noted families of that State. His parents came to
Alabama and settled in Montgomery when he was about two years old. His father has
maintained a standing for years in that city, both socially and professionally, as one of
the leading citizens of this, one of the most cultured and refined communities in the
South. It is very natural that the subject of this sketch should be possessed of many
qualities which have ever distinguished him as tlie true gentleman, and have given
him ready entree into the best classes of social life wherever he has lived.
He went to school in Montgomery until he was fourteen years old, and then
attended the University of the South at Sewanee, Tenn., one session. When he
returned home he was engaged in commercial pursuits for several years and then taught
in the public schools of that city four years. He entered the law department of the
University of Alabama and maintained a standing as one of the brightest minds of the
class. In June, 1879, he took the diploma as full graduate of the law school. On his
return to Montgomery be had an oflice with Clopton, Herbert & Chambers, and gave
special attention to familiarizing himself with the practice for a year, and then entered
the arena of active practice with a preparation that few young men could claim. He
practiced until November, 1882, and, becoming convinced that Birmingham held out
unusual opportunities to the ambitious and deserving, he came here in that month, and
has ever since devoted himself to the practice, and has risen as rapidly as those only
do who succeed. He was a member of the law firm of Sharpe & Weatherly until the
former's elevation to the city judgeship of the City Court of Birmingham. This firm
were the local attorneys for St. Clair and Jefferson Counties of the Georgia Pacific
Railroad. After the latter date Mr. Weatherly became a member of the firm of Weath-
erly & Putman, and to the latter firm has succeeded, in a largely increased ratio, the
Biographical. 363
•practice which the former did. They have grown with the strength and growth of
Birmingham, and are classed among its most reliable and successful firms.
On December 23, 1885, Mr. Weatherly received the appointment of Assistant Gen-
eral Counsel of the Georgia Pacific Railroad, and has filled it with that ability which
has characterized his course ever since he became a member of his learned profession,
and, what is of greater importance, has won the confidence and esteem of the officers
of this corporation.
Mr. Weatherly was married December 23, 1882, to Miss Florence, daughter of Col.
John T. Milner, of New Castle, Ala. The name of Milner is too well identified with
the marvelous development and growth of Alabama to need special introduction liere.
To this union two children have been born.
Mr. and Mrs. Weatherly are both members of the Episcopal Church.
Their handsome home on the South Highlands is one of the happiest and most
pleasant in Birmingham.
rnih/ohc>ll OlKjirhn Dnrhor was born at Elyton, Jefferson Countv, Alabama,
\\\\\^\)^\\ jniDUILU yKJlK^K August 17, 1859, and is another of" the young
men who has seen a transformation take place around him, as if by magic. He has seen
developed, from a few struggling habitations, the splendid young city of Birmingham,
almost under the eaves of his own home, and now almost on the point of ab.sorbing his
native village in its great growth. His father, the Hon. M. T. Porter, is now judge of
probate court, and for full accounts of his ancestral history see the latter's sketch in
this volume.
Young Porter received his early education at the old field schools, in his native vil-
lage, and went to no other until he attended the public schools of Birmingham in 1876
and 1877. Prof. S. L. Robertson, a well known educator in Jeflerson County for many
years, was then superintendent of schools.
In 1881 he attended the law department of the University of Alabama, and, on his
return to Birmingham, engaged in the practice of law with his father, the Hon. M. T.
Porter, under the firm name of Porter & Porter. This copartnership lasted until the fall
of 1884, when his father was appointed Probate Judge of Jeflerson County. He then
bacame associated with Messrs. Hewitt & Walker, under the firm name of Hewitt,
Walker & Porter. The firm stands in the very first rank, and does, perhaps, the most
lucrative practice at the Birmingham bar. Few of our younger lawyers have as bright
and inviting a future as Mr. Porter.
He was married December 21, 1886, to Miss Hattie Earle, of Tyler, Texas, and both
are members of the Episcopal Church.
■ID n PvP't'r-rirm "•is born in Sumter County. Alabama, near Livings-
(gjO^I^ (§)• iSrVn maa ton, the county seat, August 17, ISSl.
This county is one of the wealthiest in the State. Its people are among the most
cultured and refined in the Southern country. His surroundings were all highly favor-
able. He was born on the farm and spent his early life as all farmers' boys do— that is,
sometimes between the plow handles, or at other rural occupations, and then in the
various ways known only to the inventive boy, in a multiplicity of diversions.
His father, John W. Altman, came from South Carolina, and settled in Sumter
County in 1836, and was afterward married to his mother, Miss Sarah Hitt, who came
from North Carolina at an early date.
Young Altman's educational advantages were good, and that he made the proper
use of them his future career has given abundant proof. He obtained the rudiments
^
364 Jefferson Coiaify.
of an education at the country schools in his own neighborhood. At the age of sixteen
he is found engaged in teaching in his native county, with the laudable purpose of
gaining money with which further to enable him to prosecute his studies. After accu-
mulating sufficient money he went to Cooper's In.stitute, in East Mississippi. It was,
at that time, and still is a noted school, and especially characteristic for the thorough
training it gives all of its pupils. After an attendance here of some months he took a
course of law lectures at the University of Virginia. It may also be stated to his credit
that he was enabled to take these lectures with money he made while teaching.
After his return, in 1871, from Virginia, he opened a law office in Butler, Ala-
bama, the county seat of Choctaw County. He was then twenty years old. He was
associated in the practice with Chancellor Cobbs, now Chancellor of the Western Chan-
cery Division of Alabama. After practicing with success there for four years he came
to Birmingham, and was a partner of Captain Sprott until 1883, when the latter was
made Judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Alabama. He was Mayor of Livingston
seven years. lie was Democratic Elector from the Sixth Congressional District in 1SS4,
when Cleveland was elected President. From the beginning he has had a gratifying
experience as a lawyer in Birmingham. He is a thorough believer in the bright promise
of the town.
C\ YS^ oTfiP'f'on "''^ born in Greene County, Alabama, January 30, 1839.
* ^' t His father, William F. Fulton, came from Maury County,
Tennessee, and settled in this State in 1819. His mother, Elizabeth Dial, was a native of
the same county. When he was two years old his parents moved to Sumter County,
Alabama, where his mother died when he was in his third year. His father died Octo-
ber 4, 1886, at the extreme age of eighty-six. Thete were eight children born to the
parents, E. K. being next to the youngest. He went to school for some years in Sum-
ter and Greene Counties, and then attended Oglethorpe University, Georgia, until his
graduation in 1859. He taught school until the war came on, and was in the commis-
sary department of the Confederate Army until the war closed.
After the close of the war he farmed in Sumter County until 1873, and in that year
came to Birmingham. Prior to this he had studied law under Charles Cook, one of the
leading lawyers of Sumter, and when he arrived in Birmingham he at once began the
practice of his profession, in which he has since been engaged.
Mr. Fulton has been a successful dealer in real estate, and is interested in several
corporations, the most important of these being the Clifton Land Company, which owns
some beautifully located and valuable property beyond Red Mountain.
Mr. Fulton was married the first time November 23, 1863, to Laura G. Montgomery,
of Pleasant Ridge, Greene County, Alabama. To this union throe children were born —
William IMilton, Laura Edwina, and Laura Montgomery.
He was married the second time to Miss Nena Montgomery, of Starkville, Missis-
sippi, in May, 1876.
Mr. Fulton is an Odd Fellow, and he and his family are all members of the Presby-
terian Church.
)no. 3* @)e.mix^ori
father, William H. Jemison, was born in Georgia, and
is now living in Birmingham, but lived in Tuscaloosa as one of the most successful and
extensive planters for many years in the rich alluvial bottoms in Tuscaloosa County.
His mother is a native Alabamian. His grandparents, on both sides, were Virginians.
Young Jemison was particularly fortunate in his educational advantages, as his birth-
Biographical. ,^65
place was not only the seat of the State University, but also noted lor its many line
schools, and the high degree of culture that its people attained. He took a select
course in the collegiate department at the University of Alabama, and graduated in
the class of 1S76. He acted as quartermaster of the University from the fall of 1876 to
the close of June, 1879, and became commandant of the corps. In the meantime he
devoted himself to the study of law, and graduated from the law department of the
University in June of the latter year. He began the practice in Montgomery, Ala., in
the following fall, and edited the Alabama Law Journal from 1881 to 1885 inclusive.
He maintained his standing, both as a writer and lawyer, with credit during this
period.
On November 7, 1883, he was married to Miss Margie Allen, of Lafayette, Ala.,
and in January, 1884, went there to live, and practiced law until he came to Birming-
ham, on September 1, 1886, and accepted the position of secretary and attorney of the
Birmingham Land and Loan Company, which is one of the prosperous and most deserv-
ing corporations in this truly progressive center.
^Ir. Jemison has always been noted for his practical and business qualifications,
and to these are due the comfortalde circumstances by which he finds himself sur-
rounded. His domestic relations are felicitous. He is the father of two children, Eliz-
abeth Virginia and Allen Bryce.
He and his wife are both members of the Episcopal Church.
/fJNft/'PP* M 0.„4--fi„^ was boru in Smith Countv, jMiss., June IG,
©yifl^iaa) n. it^emea ^,5- j,un B. Bethea, his kher, a lieutenant
in the Confederate Army, was killed at the siege of Vicksburg.
His mother, Mrs. Elizabeth A. Bethea, like his father, was a native of South Caro-
lina, and both were descendants of the French Huguenots, and moved to the State of
his birth shortly after their marriage. On the death of his father she returned to South
Carolina. There were six chil<lren in the family, of whom four are living, and all in
Birmingham.
William lived in Marion County, South Carolina, until he was nineteen years old,
and| obtained a considerable part of his literary education in the academies of that
county, and spent two and one half years in the collegiate department of the Vander-
bilt University, in Nashville, Tenn. He then came to Talladega, Ala., where he taught
school for six years, and in his leisure studied law. In 188-1 he was admitted to the
bar, and on the 9th of August of that year came to Birmingham, where he has .since
practiced with great success. Among the trials in which he has won especial notice
was the Ellis trial. In this his client, Ellis, was held to answer for murder, and he
was successful in his defense. His associate in this trial was B. H, Tabor, now a
prominent citizen of Arkansas.
Jlr. Bethea has made considerable money in real estate transactions. He is asso-
ciated in the practice with Mr. Charles A. Senn. This is .one of the able young firms
of Birmingham.
(T^'Rni'pDA P^ ^onn "'^® born in Edgefield, now Aiken County, South
V«)riariex9 erV. ^eni^ Carolina, November 17, ISoS. His father, Thomas
J. Senn, and his mother, Nancy E. Marohant, were both natives of South Carolina.
Young Senn went to the common schools of his native county until he completed
his preliminary course, and then entered Furman University, of which Dr. James C.
Furman, a noted educator, was president. He left there in his senior year, without
completing his course, to take the office of commissioner of schools of his native county.
366 Jefferson County.
He held the position for two years, and discharged the duties of it with signal suc-
■cess and considerable ability. He had, in the meantime, read law in the otiice of
Major W. T. Gary, one of the most distinguished lawyers in Soutli Carolina, and now
one of the ablest at the Augusta bar, in Georgia. At the end of the two years that he
was commissioner of public schools, he entered the law department of Georgetown
University, in the District of Columbia, and graduated as the first-honor man of his
class in June, 1883, and received the'faculty prize accorded to all those achieving this
distinction. Immediately after his graduation, he traveled extensively in the West,
on a prospecting tour, with the intention of locating, but, as he saw no places that
suited him, he came to Birmingham, and arrived here on January 9, 1884, and since
then has confined himself to the practice of his profession. He is recognized as one of
the leading younger members of the bar of this cit)'. As a gentleman and a lawyer
he po.ssesses many of those qualities that make the successful man of the world, and
being yet a very young man he has a bright future ahead of him, if one is permitted
to base a prediction on the indications of the present.
Mr. Senn was appointed Register in Chancer)- on November 2, 1886, and fills the
position with great satisfaction to the members of his profession.
(iamex«> Moaroe P(^x^efF :r%^°:';i,V h'Th^TY' fS'"^^^^
vs March 3, 18.31. His father, Robert Russell,
came to Alabama from the State of Georgia, in 1832, with his father, Hiram Russell,
-who settled in the old Carrollton neighborhood. The latter died only a few years ago,
at the extreme age of eighty-six. His mother's maiden name was Martha Dardon, who
was a native of Tuscaloosa County. There were eleven children in the family, six
of whom were boys and five girls. Kine of this number are now living
James worked on his father's farm, and, when he was nine years old, commenced
going to school. His educational opportunities were very meager, and his whgle school
life can be summed up in about nine months. The first work he ever did for himself
was to assist in clearing ofl" the right-of-way of the South and North Division of the
Louisville & Nashville Railroad, between Village and Five-Mile Creeks, and the Alabama
• Great Southern Railroad and Hillman, at one dollar per day. Immediately after this he
went to Union County, Mississippi, where he spent three years, and returned to Jefferson
"County in April, 1874, and, after teaching school for three months, engaged in farming
north of Birmingham, and read law at spare times. In October, 1876, he came to Bir-
mingham, and read law in the office of Porter & Martin, and in January, 1877, entered
the law department of the University of Alabama, and remained there until May 25
of that year, when he was admitted to the bar in Jefferson County, before Judge W. S.
Mudd. He began the practice under very discouraging circumstances, and borrowed
twenty dollars from Colonel Alburto Martin with which to supply his family with food,
and was, besides, considerably in debt. Since June, 1877, he has been actively engaged
in practicing law in Birmingham. His real estate transactions have been pecuniarily
successful, and the valuation of his city property will amount to nearly $100,000.
Besides this, he owns sevenil thousand dollars wortli of property a short distance from
the city.
Mr. Russell, among other good things, contributed almost the entire amount to
build the Second Baptist Church, of Birmingham, and has been a member of the Bap-
tist Church ever since he was thirteen years of age.
He was married November 10, 1874, to Sarah Isabella EUard, daughter of W. W.
EUard. They have five children — Augusta, John Martin, Isabella, Annie, deceased, and
James M. Mrs. Russell, like her husband, belongs to the Baptist Church.
m ^M • y^t^x^
Biographical. 369
0«,^;^ Otx,^ @ '.\'&. was born in Randolph County, Alabama, in 1852.
i©)a^^lSL i®)l^Ot2 ^miHn He is the eWest son of ex-Oovemor WilUam H.
Smith, Sr., with whom he is associated in the practice of law. A part of his education
was obtained in common schools, partly in Chattanooga, Tenn., and at the University of
Alabama.
His acquirement of the profession of law was obtained in his father's law office.
He was admitted to the bar at Montgomery, Alabama, before the supreme court, in
1874. Mr. Smith possesses a high order of legal mind, and, since his practice at the
bar, he has been uniformly successful. He has attracted the closest attention in all the
courts where his forensic abilities were called in play. He has drawn the unusual
assertion for one so young, from one of the ablest supreme judges the State has ever
had, of " making one of the closest arguments ever listened to in all of his experience
before that tribunal." Mr. Smith's manner as a speaker is close, cogent, logical, and
easy. He possesses the rare faculty of never becoming frustrated, even under the most
trying circumstances, a quality the possession of which is far from ordinary, and which
goes a great ways in securing the ear of both the judge and jury, and in insuring suc-
cess to the cause of his clients. These tangible qualities in any speaker are exceed-
ingly fortunate, and cannot but weigh with great force before any body. Mr. Smith has.
paid little or no attention to politics, preferring to remain in his chosen field, and reap
the rewards that lie in store for him, and, from what has just been said, there can be no-
question of his attaining to a high rank, even among the foremostat the bar. His man-
ner as a gentleman is quiet, affable, and unpretentious, and to none is he more welcome
than his nearest friends, who know his worth best.
O r\^of''C ^ Isinri^o ^^® '-"^"^ '" Huntsville, Ala., in the month of January,.
J'^O'-'®"' (§)• l-'0'-i-'& ^gg^ ,j,|jg gjtyof his birth has been noted for many
years as being the seat of the highest culture, and as being justly celebrated for its
beauty, being usually styled the Queen City of the South.
With such surroundings, and at such a place, up to the time of attaining his major-
ity, were most of the years of the subject of this sketch spent. That they had the efiect of
symmetrically molding his mind and character is quite natural. His family was one of
the highest stiuiding, and his ancestry such that he can look upon it as a